Muffiny's Challenge Book!
by Five Dollar Mixtape
Summary: A book of Challenges for the forums I'm in
1. Letting The Hate Out

A small, black she cat crept through the undergrowth. Only her green eyes were visible in the night. She heard another cat padding through the forest. She opened her jaws. The scent of a tom, the tom she was waiting for, was getting stronger. She waited until a ginger tabby padded past her before she erupted from her hiding place.

She dug her claws into the larger tom's back. The tom yowled in surprise under her, then started snarling. He turned onto his back, attempting to crush the smaller she-cat under him. The she-cat jumped off before she was crushed.

She ran at the tom, slipping under him and clawing across his belly. The tom yowled once again, and was about to run. The she-cat leapt in front of him before he could, and ran at him. She lifted her front paw and slammed it down on his head.

The tom quickly shook his ginger head, his amber eyes shining with anger. The she-cat's own eyes were alight with bloodlust. The tom sank his teeth into her scruff, shaking the black pelted she-cat. He dropped her, then pinned her town. His amber eyes widened. "Shadowclaw?" he asked. "Why are you attacking me? We're in the same Clan, it's against the warrior code!"

"You've made my life horrible ever since I joined this Clan, fox dung!" Shadowclaw snarled, kicking the tom off of her. She leapt at the tom once again, closing her jaws around the back of his neck. She felt her mouth fill with blood and dropped him. She sat down and licked her paw.

"Goodbye, Sunleap." She unsheathed her claws again and scratched her pelt a few time, hissing as she did so. She started running towards the Clan camp and started yowling. "Help! Fox attack!"


	2. I Cannot Keep Those Promises

A pretty, silver tabby she-cat stretched after she left the den behind her. Her amber eyes were sleepy, but it soon disappeared as she looked around the clearing. Cats were leisurely padding past her. A black tom stopped next to her and licked her ear, his blue eyes shining.

"Good morning, Dawnlight," he purred. Dawnlight nodded, leaning against his shoulder.

"You too, Nightshadow." Nightshadow purred and licked between her ears. "Will you go hunting with me?" the she-cat asked. Nightshadow nodded and stood up, leading the way out of the camp. They padded side by side until they were in a clearing. Both of them opened their jaws, scenting for prey. Instead, they picked up the scent of other cats. Lots of other cats.

The two warriors looked at each other. "We have to warn the Clan," Nightshadow mewed. Dawnlight nodded. They sped off back towards the Clan. They were panting heavily as they crashed into the camp.

"Wh-where's Grassstar?" Dawnlight asked. A russet colored tom flicked his ear.

"He's training with Foxpaw. Why?" he asked.

"TunnelClan is attacking!" Nightshadow yowled. The russet tom's green eyes flashed. He flicked his tail at Dawnlight. "Go get Grassstar and Foxpaw, we need as many cats as we can get." The tabby nodded and left the camp. She didn't hear the rest of the deputy's orders as she went to the Training Clearing as fast as she could.

She leaped into the middle of the grassy ground, in between the two training cats.

"Dawnlight, what are you doing? We're training!" The black and white tabby meowed. His green eyes glittered with annoyance.

"There's no time for that now! TunnelClan is attacking!" The ginger tom's amber eyes widened.

"Follow me," Grassstar ordered, and leapt out of the clearing. Foxpaw and Dawnlight followed at his heels. They forced themselves run faster as they heard the sounds of a battle. Dawnlight sped into camp and used her momentum to leap on a TunnelClan cat, sending him off of one of her Clanmates.

She pinned him down, snarling at the tom. The tom bit down on her paw. She let out a yowl, then scratched the tom's belly. The tom slipped out from under her with a yowl of pain. He ran off. She leapt for another cat.

The battle went on. Dawnlight fought cat after cat, but everything seemed to go by in a blur. She heard yowl by the entrance of the camp. "TunnelClan! Retreat!" The dark pelted cats of TunnelClan stopped fighting, and hesitate before they left the camp. The cats left in the camp let out a yowl of victory.

Dawnlight looked around the camp, looking for Nightshadow. She saw him laying on the ground, and bounded over to him. "Nightsha-" her voice broke off when she saw his throat and eyes. His throat was sliced open, and blood was still seeping out of the wound. His fur was soaked with the red liquid. His blue eyes were dull. The stench of death was already seeping out of his body. "Nightshade!" She yowled, sorrow in her voice.

A few cats turned towards her, their eyes widening as they saw Nightshade's body. Dawnlight buried her muzzle in his dark fur, still able to smell her scent over the death scent.

Unknown to her, or to any of the cats in the Clan, Nightshade's spirit appeared next to his body and his mate. He looked down at Dawnlight, his eyes sad. "I promise you, Dawnlight, I'll be waiting for you in StarClan." He turned his head towards a black she-cat, one that the rest of the Clan was ignoring. "I'm ready to go, Shadowclaw." The green-eyed she-cat nodded.

She turned around and started padding away, Nightshadow following the almost identical she-cat.

 **TIMESKIP**

Years had past since Nightshadow had joined StarClan, she knew her time was coming soon. Greencough was spreading through her Clan, and she was one of the first cats who had caught the deadly disease, and she was too weak to stand up. She rested her head on her paws and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, a familiar tom stood in front of her. "Nightshadow," she purred.

"I promised you that I would be waiting for you," he mewed. Dawnlight stood up, feeling herself fill up with more strength than she had ever felt since Nightshadow had left her. Her mate turned around led her to StarClan, and she followed happily.

She appeared on StarClan's hunting ground. She looked at her pelt, and was surprised to see stars in her fur. A few other cats were waiting for her. Her mother, her father, and her brother who had died as a kit. She purred at the sight of them. Nightshadow caught the gaze of a black she-cat that Dawnlight recognized as Shadowclaw.

"I'll catch up to you later, alright?" Dawnlight nodded and bounded off to join her family. She happily caught up with them for a few minutes, before she went to go find Nightshadow.

She followed his scent until he saw Shadowclaw and Nightshadow talking to each other. Until Shadowclaw leapt at the black tom, biting down on his neck. Like he was just a piece of prey. Dawnlight leapt forward, her eyes widening. "No, Nightshadow!" She crouched down next to her mate.

Nightshadow was fading fast. He looked up at her. "I'm sorry, Dawnlight. I can't stay with you."

"You can't leave! You can't!" Nightshadow shook his head.

"It's too late. I love you, Dawnlight." His eyes were the last thing to disappear. Dawnlight's emotions quickly changed from sadness, to happiness, to anger. She turned to Shadowclaw.

"You killed him!" Shadowclaw nodded.

"Yes, I did. Oh, if you were wondering, I also killed Sunleap." She licked her paw as she spoke.

"You never left behind your life as a rogue! You're a murder!" the tabby leapt at the she-cat, but the black cat dodged.

"I really _don't_ want to kill you. And I know you won't kill me."

"But I will," The two cats turned their gaze towards a tom and a she-cat who had entered the clearing. Dawnlight's mother and father. Her father was the one who had spoke.

Shadowclaw scoffed. " _You_ will kill _me_ , Ironscar? Well, I invite you to try," Before she had finished speaking, Ironscar leapt at the she-cat. She dodged and jumped on his back, sinking in her claws. Ironscar growled and flipped on his back, crushing Shadowclaw under him. He stood up. Ironscar lifted his paw and was about to slash at her neck, but Shadowclaw surged upwards and grabbed his throat in her teeth.

Shadowclaw had won again.

Or, at least she thought she did. With his last bit of strength, Ironscar slashed his claws across her throat. Both of them were doomed to die.

Ironscar fell over and looked at his mate and daughter before he disappeared. Shadowclaw followed soon after.


	3. Vixenpaw's Past

**Before I start this, Xixi, am I the only one who noticed that there are only two toms in NightClan? Trust me, I counted. Oh, and sorry if I got Ravenstar's personality wrong! I really hope that I don't.**

I had always been… well, different from other kits my age. Separate. I tried to stay away from them, and they tried to be close to me.

I was a loner. The perfect definition of what the Clan's pictured when they thought 'rogue' in an innocent, kit form. My littermates would try to play with me. I unsheathed my claws, growling. My parents tried to scold me. I snarled back.

By the time I was three moons old, I was more mature than most kits my age. I decided that I should leave my kin behind me, so I did. I started traveling. The first quarter moon went by smoothly. I was able to catch a few pieces of prey, no matter how sloppy the catch was. I was surviving well, for a kit.

I was fine until I met a group of rouges. I was leaving the moors and padding onto a forest. "Hey, kit," one of them growled. I turned towards them. The one who had spoke was a huge, grey tabby. I felt a flash of fear. I tried my best to hide it. "I'm not a kit! My name's Vixen!" I growled.

"Oh, really?" the she-cat next to him sneered. She was a tortishell. "Well then Vixen, what are you doing here?"

"I left my kin. I don't need them, I'm stronger than them."

The last cat, a brown pelted tom, unsheathed his claws. "Do you think we should test that, Scar?" he asked. Scar, the gray tabby, nodded. Both him and the she-cat unsheathed their claws. I copied their action, snarling.

Scar leaped on me first. He was enough to overpower me, but once the other two leapt on me, I had no chance. I couldn't even get a scratch in. Pain filled my whole body. I heard yowling. It took me a second to realize that it was my own. They stopped after a bit.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Scar snarled. "You're just a kit!" I struggled to get to my paws. The pain got worse every time I moved. The rogues seemed to laugh at me as I limped away.

I didn't care about how much it hurt. I just had to get away. Anywhere there were no cats was fine with me. I had no idea how to heal my wounds, but I didn't care about that. The pain kept getting worse and worse. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going.

Eventually, I couldn't go any further. My wounds and my size put a limit on how far I could go. I let myself fall on my side. Every breath I took was labored. I lost track of time.

I heard cats crashing through the undergrowth. I would've moved if I could. I let my eyes drift closed. I heard them stop in front of me. "What?" one of them asked. "A...kit?" They bent down to sniff me, but stopped half way. "She's injured!"

"What should we do, Mistyshadow?" another cat asked.

"We'll take her to Emberstreak and Dusklight. She's just a kit." I felt someone pick me up by my scruff and start sprinting. I swung slightly as the cat continued their sprint. Suddenly, they stopped and past me to another cat. "Take her to the medicine den. I'll go speak with Ravenstar." The cat they past me to nodded, and took me to a den filled with the smell of herbs.

"Emberstreak? Dusklight?" The cat called out, dropping me. I heard another cat come out into the main den, and I heard a gasp.

"I'll take care of her." The cat who brought me into the den left, and the cat who was in the den went back to where she was before. She came back a few seconds later. "Keep your eyes open, little one. You need to stay awake." I forced my eyes open unwillingly.

The cat tending to me was a golden she-cat with darker shades of gold on her pelt. Her eyes were the color of the sunset. She chewed up some leaves before she started treating my wounds. "What happened to you?" she asked.

"R-rogues," my voice was weak. She nodded. Once she was done with my wounds, she sat back.

"Here, eat this," she placed a seed in front of my face. I lapped it up. "You're alright. You can sleep now, if you want. Just try not to move." I nodded and closed my eyes. She moved me to a nest. It didn't take long for me to sink into sleep.

When I woke up, I was already feeling better. Not perfect, but fine. I sat up. I winced slightly as I did so. I stood up and stretched. I felt a bit of pain, but not that much. A dark grey she-cat with bright amber eyes padded towards me. "Are you feeling better?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, thanks."

"What's your name, little one?"

I was about to tell her that I wasn't a kit, but I remembered what happened with the rogues. "Vixen," I mewed. She nodded.

"If you don't mind, I have to talk with Ravenstar. Feel free to move around, but don't do anything drastic." I nodded as she left. I followed her a few heartbeats later.

I looked around the huge camp. Cats were everywhere, talking and grooming each other's pelts. Kits were running around and playing. One of them ran up to me. She was a grey and white she-kit with green eyes. "Hi! I'm Mosskit, who're you?" she asked.

"I-I'm Vixen," I meowed. My voice was quieter than usual.

"Vixen, huh? That's a pretty name!"

"Mosskit is a weird name."

"Hey!" Mosskit pouted slightly. Well, as much as a cat could. I didn't notice a pitch black she-cat with a pink scar down her muzzle padding towards us. Her eyes were a dark amber.

"Emberstreak and Dusklight told me about you, Vixen." She meowed. Both me and Mosskit looked up at her. I sat down and wrapped my tail around his paws.

"They did?" I asked. She nodded.

"My name is Ravenstar. Would you mind telling me what exactly happened to you?" Something about her made me… respect her. So, I told her everything that happened. She nodded when I finished.

"You seem to have a lot of courage, for a kit." Her tail flicked. "Tell me, would you like to get stronger?" I blinked.

 _Get… stronger?_ I thought. "What do you mean by that?"

"This place that you're in is called NightClan. We're a group of cats that protect and defend each other," Ravenstar started to explain. "Here, a kit becomes an apprentice when their six moons old, then they train to become a warrior to defend our Clan. If you join us, you will get stronger, and there will be a group of cats to help you fight."

I thought for a few seconds. "Yeah. I want to get stronger."


	4. It Still Haunts Me

A pure white she-cat padded through the woods. She seemed to be stepping on everything that made noise, scaring all the prey around her. She twirled in a circle, a strange action for a cat. She let out a blood chilling 'mrow' of laughter. She stood on her hind legs, batting at a falling leaf with here paws before it rested on the ground.

A brown tabby tom padded out of the undergrowth and growled at her. "Snowstrike, what are you doing? You're scaring all the prey from here to River's Peak!" His strange, violet eyes glittered with annoyance and sympathy, two emotions that you don't usually see together.

Snowstrike let out another bit of laughter. "Well, Tabby, do you really care about that?"

The tabby sighed. "It's Tabbystorm, and we have to feed the Clan." Tabbystorm padded towards her. "I know that you've been… different, to put it mildly, since Leafclaw died, but we still have to take care of the Clan." His tail flicked as he spoke.

Snowstrike sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws. "Did you take care of Leafclaw when he caught Greencough?" she asked, closing her eyes in a smile. Tabbystorm swallowed before he replied.

"You know that we couldn't, Ironstar said that we couldn't." The white she-cat remembered the scar she got on her ear when she tried to give her mate a mouse, but she showed no outward reaction.

Snowstrike leapt at the tom. "He was still my mate," she purred. Tabbystorm dodged her attack.

"Snowstrike, what are you doing?!" She leapt at the tabby again, clawing his side.

"I want to get revenge on Ironstar, duh!" She started running towards the camp. Tabbystorm followed her, letting out a warning yowl. He was able to catch up to her and leap on her back, sending her down to the ground. He kept running towards the camp, Snowstrike following soon after. She caught up to him, digging her claws into his back. Tabbystorm yowled, then shook her off.

Before he could keep running, Sowstrike sunk her teeth into his hind leg. She felt some blood seep into her mouth before she ran off towards the camp.

She crashed into camp and looked around. Ironstar was sitting next to a large tree, under the shade. Snowstrike leapt towards him, pinning him down. Ironstar remained calm. "Snowstrike, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Well, you killed Leafclaw, so I'm killing you! Or, at least, taking away one of your lives," She let out another 'mrow' of laughter. Ironstar's eyes widened slightly as she spoke. He shoved her off of him, but she landed on her paws. She wavered slightly on her paws, then leapt at him again.

She he clawed at his side as she leapt past, then clamped her teeth down on his hind leg.

The grey pelted tom yowled, then shook her off. He ran at her, then jumped into the air, attempting to land on her. Snowstrike ran under him then leapt up, hitting him in the belly. He flew back as Snowstrike landed on her side on the ground. Both of them stood up. Ironstar leapt at the white she-cat, pinning her down. She clawed at his belly, then slid out from under him.

Before she could move, Ironstar clawed across her throat. She stood on shaking legs for a second before she fell on her side. She saw some brown paws padding towards her as her legs moved, like she was trying to run. Her vision went black.

She stood up a few seconds later, and looked down at her body. Blood was steadily covering her white fur. She looked up at the cat she saw padding towards her earlier. "Leafclaw," she purred. Leafclaw's green eyes were shining.

"Come on, let's go," Leafclaw purred. He turned and started padding away.

"Wait," Snowstrike mewed. Leafclaw looked over his shoulder at his mate. "I tried to kill Ironstar. I'm going to StarClan?" The brown tom nodded.

"You weren't yourself, every cat knows that." Snowstrike nodded, and followed her mate happily. Her tail flicked as both of them disappeared.

They both appeared in StarClan's hunting ground, but no other cats were waiting for her. "You had a pretty hard time after I died, didn't you?" Leafclaw asked. Snowstrike nodded.

"I'm sorry. It must've been hard for you," Snowstrike shook her head.

"You couldn't help it. It's not your fault that you got Greencough."

"I know, but I still feel guilty," Leafclaw meowed. Snowstrike leaned in his shoulder.

"It's fine," she purred. "Would you care to show me around?"

Leafclaw purred and nodded. He stood up and padded away, the white she-cat following.


	5. Sing Your Sorrows

**Song- Willow Tree March by The Paper Kites**

 **Crookedpaw's name is pronounced like a crook in something, just so you know :D**

A white and pale gray tabby she-cat sniffed the air. She heard branches rustling above her, and then a yowl as the sounds got louder. She looked up.

 _You fall through the trees_

 _And you pray with your knees on the ground_

Her green eyes widened. _Oh, StarClan no…_ She thought. "Crookedpaw!"

 _For the things that you need_

 _With your lust and your greed weighing down_

The small, grey pelted apprentice crashed onto the ground. His pelt was covered in his own blood. He looked over at his mentor. "I-I just wanted… to find my mother, Whitefox…" he meowed, lifting up his head. His head dropped, and his eyes grew dull. He had lost too much blood.

 _And you weaken your love_

 _And you hold it above your head_

Whitefox tried to ignore her pain as she grabbed the scruff of her apprentice and dragged him back to camp.

 _Success is a song of the heart, not a song of your bed._

She dropped the tom in the center of camp. Cats gasped as they say Crookedpaw.

 _And we all still die_

 _Yeah we all still die_

"What happened?" Lionstar asked as he padded up to the she-cat. She explained sadly as his mother and sister padded towards the body.

 _What will you leave behind?_

 _Oh we all still die_

Whitefox leaped down from the branch and landed gracefully on her paws.

 _You fall through the trees_

 _And you pray with your knees on the ground_

She flicked her tail and padded forward, remembering her old apprentice. She shook her head, she had a new apprentice to focus on.

 _For the things that you need_

 _With your lust and your greed weighing down_

"Nettlepaw!" She yowled. A brown pelted she-cat padded towards her.

"Whitefox?" She mewed. The green-eyed she-cat looked at the smaller she-cat. "You look sad," Nettlepaw meowed.

 _And you weaken you love_

 _And you hold it above your head_

Whitefox shook her head once again. "No, I'm fine. Just… thinking." The tabby sat down. "We should go back to your training."

 _Success is a song of the heart, not a song of your bed_

She couldn't shake the thought of Crookedpaw from her mind, and she didn't know why. She pictured his battered body lying in camp, and cats swarming their dead Clanmate.

 _And we all still die_

 _Yeah we all still die_

 _What will you leave behind_

 _Oh we all still die_

The forest was lit up by orange flames. Cats choked on the heavy smoke as they sprinted out of their territory. Whitefox stopped next to a familiar tree. Again, she could see Crookedpaw lying at the foot of it. "Whitefox, you have to move!" Whitefox turned her gaze towards her former apprentice, Nettlespore.

 _Marching away from the stream_

 _This tree it will die without leaves_

Whitefox nodded, casting one last glance at the tree as she followed the brown pelted warrior. She coughed as she was forced to inhale smoke.

 _Marching away from the stream_

 _This tree it will die with out leaves_

Another warrior ran next to her. "Crookedpaw's death wasn't your fault, you have to remember that." Whitefox nodded.

 _This tree it will die_

 _This tree it will die_

A tree fell behind them, and the cats heard an ear splitting yowl. Whitefox turned and saw Lionstar trapped under a tree, a kit in his jaws. "Lionstar!" She yowled.

 _And we all still die_

 _Yeah we all still die_

She ran towards her leader. "Take Snowkit," he huffed. Whitefox nodded. She took the kit from her leader and kept running. She knew that the golden pelted leader was on his last life, and she also knew that there was no way she could lift the burning tree off of him.

 _What will you leave behind?_

 _Oh we all still die_

She heard another tree falling. She looked up and saw that it was going to crash onto her if she kept running. She skidded to a stop. The tree fell in front of her, blocking her path. "Whitefox!" She heard Nettlespore yowl.

"Nettlespore, catch!" She yowled, throwing Snowkit over the flames of the fallen tree.

"Run! Leave me behind!"

"But-"

"Go!" She heard no more arguments from her former apprentice.

 _And we all still die_

 _Yeah we all still die_

 _What will you leave behind?_

 _Oh we all still die_


	6. Slowly Taken Away

"Amber! Run!" The small ginger kit was being herded away by the black she-cat.

"But Feather, I want to fight, too!" Amber complained. Feather shook her head.

"You have a different job: to protect your littermates. They're depending on you," Feather meowed. Amber turned her green eyes towards the three other kits that were already on the other end of the alley, shaking in fear. She nodded and sprinted towards them. The cats around her were strangely blurry, and the sounds were muffled.

She stopped in front of her three littermates. "Alright, let's go!"

The gray tabby tom looked up at her. "B-but Amber, Claw and Flower are fighting! So is Feather!"

The blue-gray she-cat nodded. "And didn't you say that you would fight with them?"

"Feather reminded me that I have a more important job, to protect you guys!"

The black tom growled. "We can take care of ourselves!"

"Amber's the only one with training, Night," the blue-gray she-cat mewed.

"Shut up, Water! Don't you think that we can fight for ourselves?" Night looked over at the tabby. "Don't you think so, too, Stone?" Stone looked down shyly at his paws, not responding. Water just didn't respond.

Night growled. "Well, if you two are too scared to fight for yourself, then I'll fight for you!" Night ran into the fight.

"Night, no!" Amber turned back to Water and Stone. "Stay here, you two." She charged forward, into the fight. She had already lost track of Night. She quickly ran under the larger cats, using her speed as her advantage. A black tom was able to catch up to her and picked her up by her scruff. She was shaken around a bit.

Amber closed her eyes, trying to not let herself get sick from the back and forth movement. The tom dropped her, and she quickly ran off. She was ignoring the other cats, only the thought of her brother keeping her going. She skidded around a pair of battling cats, one that she recognized as Feather.

She heard a high pitched yowl that rose above the rest. The yowl of a kit. _Night!_ She thought, and raced off towards the sound. She froze when she found what she was looking for.

Night was laying on the ground, his once black fur stained red. His claws were extended, and his amber eyes were dull. His jaws were open in an unfinished yowl. "N-Night…" she mewed. She heard a thump from behind her. She turned around and looked at a gray tabby she-cat. "Flower!" she yowled.

Flower was laying on the ground, snarling at a large tortishell tom. Before she could make a single move to attack, the tom closed his jaws around her throat, like he was killing a piece of prey. He leapt away towards another cat. Another familiar cat. A black tom. _Claw,_ Amber thought. But she was too busy watching Flower. Blood seeped out of her wound, staining her gray fur a dark red.

Her paws moved like she was trying to run before her blue eyes turned dull. Blood continued to seep out of the wound. She heard another yowl, and turned her gaze to Claw. He was dying the same as Flower was. The blood soaking his fur, his eyes turning dull. The stench of death was already reeking from the three bodies.

She heard two more, high pitched yowls. She turned her face towards Water and Stone. Both of them were dead, as well. Feather popped into her mind. She was the last cat of their group left, besides herself. She was too shocked to move. She barely processed the last yowl of Feather. The tortishell padded towards me, his paws stained red with blood.

"Are you going to kill her too, Leopard?" A white she-cat asked.

Leopard thought for a second. "No." He sheathed his claws. "She'll become one of our servants." _A...servant…_ Her mind was blank. The scene changed around her.

She was a bit bigger now; her amber eyes were dull and lifeless. Her life being controlled by the cats around her had weakened her mind. The fact that she was constantly threatened and surrounded by death didn't help her mental health in any way, shape, or form.

She dropped her fresh-kill in front of Leopard's paws. Leopard nodded in approval. "You have always been the best servant, Amber. Leave us." Amber turned and padded away. She heard a yowl of disapproval from farther away. She looked over at the sound. A small, black tom was getting clawed across the face. He was very blurry; she could barely make out his skinny and small form. She looked for the reason why. She saw a scrawny mouse.

Leopard padded over to the she-cat and the black tom. "Snake, what's the problem?"

Snake gestured at the mouse with her tail. "Dark brought this excuse for prey back for me," she snarled. "It's the third time this moon."

"Would you like to get rid of him?" Leopard asked. Snake nodded without hesitation. "Go ahead." Snake clawed across his throat. Dark stood for a few seconds before he fell to the ground. Blood started to soak his pelt, but she couldn't see his fading eyes. She recognized the familiar scent of death.

Leopard turned to her and another cat, a white one, just as blurry as Dark was. "Snow, Amber," he meowed. "Take care of Dark's body." She felt herself be shaken awake. She opened her eyes in a den.

A blue-gray tom (that always reminded her of Water) was standing over her, his paw raised. His gray eyes were just as dull and lifeless as her's were. "Amber, the Masters are waiting," he mewed. Amber stood up and nodded, looking around the den.

"Thanks for waking me, Frost. I was having another nightmare," she meowed. "The other servants are awake already?" she asked. Frost nodded. Both of them padded out of the den. Leopard padded past them. She remembered all the people he had killed, including her own family. All too clearly.


	7. You Have Everything I Ever Wanted

"Get out of the way, Foxdung!" Foxpaw felt herself get shoved to the side. Before she could stop herself, she fell into a pool of mud. A brown tabby looked at her in disgust. "I can't believe that you're related to Lonepaw," he meowed. Foxpaw didn't speak as she dragged herself out of the mud. The tabby growled at her before he padded over to a beautiful silver she-cat with amber, almost golden eyes. Foxpaw's ears twitched in annoyance, and hatred gleamed in her eyes.

Lonepaw always got everything. Foxpaw got nothing. Her own parents decided that she wasn't worth a second thought because of how small she was. She was the runt of her litter of two, but it was more noticeable with Lonepaw as her sister. Perfect, perfect Lonepaw always got the best things. All of the cats in the Clan loved her, while Foxpaw was shoved away. Not only that, Foxpaw was held back from being an apprentice by a moon for something that all kits try to do, sneak out of camp. Lonepaw even went with her, yet Foxpaw was the only one who got punished. Lonepaw's mentor was the Clan's leader, Sparkstar. Foxpaw was forced to become a medicine cat against her will.

Foxpaw hated Lonepaw. She hated her with a burning passion.

Lonepaw shot Foxpaw a glance full of pity. That only fueled Foxpaw's hatred. She didn't want pity, she wanted revenge. Foxpaw ignored her sister and started cleaning the mud off of her fur before it dried. She listened to Lonepaw's conversation with the other apprentice.

"So, you're finally becoming a warrior today?" the tabby asked.

"Yes, I am."

"I'm going to miss you, Lonepaw. Honestly though, I'm surprised that Sparkstar didn't make you a warrior sooner."

Lonepaw purred. "Don't worry, Duskpaw. I'm sure that you'll be made a warrior soon."

"Sooner than Foxdung, anyway," Duskpaw growled. Foxpaw could feel his green eyes burning into her fur.

"You shouldn't call her that," Lonepaw mewed. Foxpaw's ears pirked, and she stopped midlick.

"What?"

"She is a medicine cat, so she's one of the most important cats in the Clan." _Why is she…_ _defending me? She never had before,_ Foxpaw thought. Before she had enough time to think about why Lonepaw suddenly decided to defend her sister, Sparkstar emerged from his den.

"May all cats old enough to walk the stones join here beneath the Ancient Tower for a Clan meeting," Sparkstar leapt up onto the large tower next to his den. Foxpaw padded over to the entrance of the medicine den, wrapping her tail around her paws. A white she cat (the only cat in the Clan besides Lonepaw who didn't hate her) emerged from the den and sat next to Foxpaw. She purred at the sight of Foxpaw and sat next to her apprentice.

Foxpaw watched as Lonepaw sat in front of the Ancient Tower and looked up at her mentor. Sparkstar started speaking again. "We have gathered here today to watch an apprentice become a warrior. She has trained for many moons, and I believe that she is ready to become a warrior." Sparkstar turned his gaze up towards the sky.

"I, Sparkstar, leader of MossClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the way of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn." Sparkstar looked down at Lonepaw, a look of pride in his eyes. "Lonepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Lonepaw nodded. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Lonepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Lonestream. StarClan honors your strength and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MossClan."

"Lonestream! Lonestream!" The cats of the Clan chanted Lonestream's name happily. Foxpaw joined in half heartedly, not wanting to be shoved by her mentor to join in.

Many moons had past of Foxpaw's life. Lonestream was as popular as ever, and Foxpaw was as hated as ever. However, she had a good feeling about tonight. The half-moon medicine cat gathering. She followed the white she-cat in front of her to the Moon Fall, happily forgetting the cats of her Clan.

The two she cats met up with a ginger tom as they continued their journey. "Good evening, Moonleaf, Foxpaw," the tom meowed. Foxpaw dipped her head to the tom.

"You as well, Emberflick," Moonleaf meowed.

"Is all well with MossClan?" Emberflick asked.

Moonleaf nodded. "Yes, it is. And with ScarClan?"

Emberflick shook his head. "Storkstar still believes that we can survive off of rats."

Moonleaf sighed. "Nothing we can do about that. But, we should hurry to the Moon Fall." Emberflick nodded, and the three cats set off together.

The cats met up with two more at the Moon Fall, a gray tom named Falconclaw and his apprentice, Greenpaw. All of the cat's fur started to get soaked with water.

"Before we share tongues with StarClan," Moonleaf began. "I think it's time for Foxpaw to earn her full medicine cat name. Foxpaw's yellow eyes widened. Greenpaw smiled a catish smile at her friend.

"Congratulations!" Flaconclaw and Emberflick nodded in agreement.

"So, come here," Moonleaf meowed. Foxpaw stood up shakily from next to Greenpaw and carefully padded over to her mentor. When she reached her, Moonleaf looked up at the starry sky. "I, Moonleaf, medicine cat of MossClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has worked hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her Clan for many moons."

 _If the cats in MossClan could see this…_ Foxpaw thought smugly. _If Lonestream could see this…_

"Foxpaw," Moonleaf meowed. "Do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Foxpaw meowed. She felt pride and joy fill her completely. Maybe she never wanted to become a medicine cat, maybe she was treated horribly in MossClan, but she had worked hard for this.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your full name as a medicine cat. Foxpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Foxmist. StarClan honors your skill and thirst for knowledge. You have saved the lives of many cats."

"Foxmist! Foxmist!" Foxmist listened with pride as her fellow medicine cats chanted her new name. She purred happily.

"Now, share tongues with StarClan as a full medicine cat," Moonleaf meowed happily. Foxmist lapped up some of the water streaming down from the waterfall and fell asleep.

A silver tom stood in front of her: a cat that she had never seen before. "Hello?" Foxmist asked. She couldn't help but notice that instead of the normal field she was on, she was surrounded by stars.

"My name is Riversong. And I have a gift for you."

Foxmist happily padded into camp, her tail flicking from side to side as she followed Moonleaf. Lonestream saw the two medicine cats and instantly bounded over to them. She coughed a bit as she started speaking.

"Moonleaf, Foxpaw, I'm not feeling so good. Could you give me something?" Moonleaf nodded and turned to Foxmist.

"Foxmist, take her into the medicine den. I need to speak with Sparkstar." Foxmist nodded as Lonestream's eyes lit up as she looked at her.

"Congratulations, Foxmist!" Foxmist couldn't suppress a purr, no matter how much she hated the silver she cat. The red she-cat led the way towards the medicine den as Lonestream coughed some more. Inside, she was starting to feel satisfied. Foxmist gestured to a nest with her tail. "Sit there while I check you over." Lonestream nodded and followed her sister's instructions. The medicine cat pressed her nose into her fur. _Fever,_ Foxmist thought. _And a cough. That means… Riversong did it!_ Foxmist faked shock. She sat up straight and shook her sister.

"I'm sorry, Lonestream. It's whitecough."

Lonestream's whitecough quickly became greencough, and had spread to multiple cats in the Clan. Moonleaf and Foxmist did their best, but the cats refused to get better. Lonestream was in horrible condition. She was dead on her paws. Just as Riversong had promised her. Foxmist set damp moss in front of her sister. "Thank-" before her sister could finish, she broke out in a fit of weak coughs. Her breath was labored, and she slowly and weakly moved forward to drink from the moss. Foxmist sat up as she watched her sister.

"You got everything, you know," she meowed.

"Huh?" Lonestream asked, but Foxmist ignored her

"You got all the attention, all the beauty, all the comfort, all the choice, everything. I was forced to become a medicine cat while the Clan hated me. I always wanted to a be a warrior, but I never got to chose. Then you became a warrior, and everything just got worse. Cats looked at me like I was nothing, while you might as well have been Clan leader. You barely even tried to defend me. Then, Riversong came to me. Right after I got my full medicine cat named, he promised me revenge. How could I not take the chance?" Lonestream's eyes widened. "Don't worry, Lonestream, StarClan isn't that bad. It's quite nice, actually. It's always Green Leaf, and there's plenty of prey." Lonestream broke into another fit of coughing. Her breath weakened until it disappeared completely. And Foxmist couldn't be happier.


	8. Take Me Away

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **This, my friends, is long overdue.**

Pain is a hard thing to describe, especially at my age.

You think that a scrape or a bump is the worst that can happen to you,

But you would be wrong.

Blood is surrounding my cold body like a lazily flowing river.

The sight of it would give you the same chill as falling into it during winter,

And the same feeling of despair as you drown in it.

The moon passes overhead as I stand on shaky paws, trying to remember what happened.

It's useless for a few moments, until fear floods me like the river is overflowing from moons upon moons of rain.

I could feel the pain as claws scratched me, like the first drops of rain into the water.

I could feel teeth as the water level starts to rise.

I could feel my body hitting the rocks it was laying on now as the water laps at my small paws and short legs.

And as I remember the face of my mother, I feel the water pulling me in.

Dampening my fur with pain and filling my mind with despair, I put the pieces together through the flood.

My mother was the one who opened the floodgates.

The one who looked up to the Dark Forest and asked for the rain to begin,

Flooding the land and killing its life.

My own tears start to join the flood.

I heard careful pawsteps heading towards me.

A bright cat that I didn't recognize stopped in front of me, and glanced down at the physical victim of the flood.

She tells me her name is Mintleaf, and that I was dead.

She tells me I was going to go to StarClan.

I knew what that was.

I knew that I was dead.

I knew that I had no choice.

I nodded with tears still streaming down my face. The flood had settled.

She tells me that I will enjoy StarClan.

She says I would never be hungry, that I would never have to worry about the cold.

That I would gaze wisdom beyond my age.

She was the sun coming through the cracks of the clouds, slowly bringing down the water level.

She led the way out of the flood, towards StarClan. I stopped and looked down at the victim before I followed her.

She led me out of my flood, but my fur was still wet.

You don't recover from watching your world crumble around you, no matter where you are.

The lazy river had a strong current.


	9. A Leader's Lives

Lonestream could easily say that she wasn't prepared for this. Even when her Clan had always encouraged her, when it was her own sister, Foxmist, her Clan's Medicine Cat, taking her to the Moon Fall, she wasn't prepared for this.

First, she felt the spray from the water sink into her pelt, and she shivered. Foxmist was unaffected as she flicked her tail towards the small pool, urging her sister to drink. Next, she felt the worst cold she had ever felt as she laid down and closed her eyes. The thought that crossed her mind was _Foxmist has to put up with this every Half Moon?_

Next was seeing an array of cats spread out in front of her. Ones she recognized. Moonleaf, Foxmist's mentor, Heartfall, her and Foxmist's mother, Sparkstar, the leader before her and her mentor, Duskpaw, her friend since kithood, Stormflame, the cat who suffered too much, Ravensight, the warrior who was always on Foxmist's side, and then there was the only cat she didn't know. He was a russet tom with white ears and black paws, with golden eyes.

First, Duskpaw padded forward. Lonestream noticed that his eyes had changed from the ones that used to adore her to holding wisdom beyond his years. The tabby looked up at her. "With this life, I give you guidance. Use it to put all your confused Clanmates on the right path." Lonestream lowered her head a bit for him to press his nose against her forehead, and wasn't expecting the feeling that came with it.

That was the next thing she experienced. The feelings. The life rushed through her with annoyance, patience, and happiness all at once. She pictured countless cats in front of her, all directing questions at her: some questions that she knew the answer to and others that she didn't.

Once the feeling faded, Duskpaw was already padding back among his starry peers. Now, the thought running through her head was _I have to do that nine more times?_ She was already exausted.

Next, Heartfall padded forward. "With this life I give you a mother's love. Use it to protect your Clan at all costs." Lonestream was expecting a warm feeling, but instead she felt anger. The most anger that she had ever felt in her life, and all she wanted to do was slash her claws through whatever was in front of her and sink her teeth into it. When the life was over, she was panting. Heartfall purred softly at her before rejoining the other StarClan warriors.

Moonleaf approached her next. "With this life, I give you nurturing. Use it to look after your Clan, much like a Medicine Cat does." The life that filled her next was filled with worry and love. Already, it was the easiest life that she had gotten, but the worry was immense. It was the feeling she had during her final assessment, multiplied by a hundred. She wondered if Foxmist felt like that as the life faded. When she looked up, Moonleaf was back where she was before the life.

Next, was Ravensight. "With this life, I give you observation. Use it well to determine one cat's skill from another." This life was easy flowing, like a river. She noticed muscles rippling, perfect for fighting, muscles bunching, perfect for leaping, gentle paws, perfect for healing, and lean muscles, perfect for hunting. She looked up at Ravensight and wondered how he could do any of that when he was alive.

Next, was Sparkstar. "With this life, I give you leadership. Use it well to guide your Clan in the darkest of times." With this life, she felt a weight that she could have never imagine on her shoulders, weighing her down and making her want to do nothing more than curl up in her nest and sleep.

Stormflame was next. "With this life, I give you stability. Use it to keep your head through all your emotions." This life held the most sadness that she had ever felt. The sadness when Chesterpaw left, when Roseleaf died, when he was left alone and no cat in the Clan seemed to care. The sadness he carried when he followed in Chesterpaw's paw steps. It was like how she felt when Heartfall died, multiplied by a thousand.

Finally, it was the russet tom. "My name is Silverdrop," he meowed. "Foxmist and your father," he added. Lonestream's eyes widened. "With this life, I give you loyalty. Use it well to stay with your loved ones even when it seems like the end is in sight." The feeling that rushed through her was even better than an adreneline rush. It was pride and joy and strength and the urge to protect all at once. It wasn't the most painful of her lives, but it was the most powerful.

"I hail you by your new name, Lonestar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of MossClan. Defend it well; care for the young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the Warrior Code; live each life with pride and dignity."

"Lonestar! Lonestar!" The newly named Lonestar listened as the dead cats around her chanted her name before she woke at the Moon Fall. She sat up and shook her fur.

Foxmist was sitting with her tail curled around her paws across from her. "Welcome back, Lonestar."


	10. A Song To Suit The Scene

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **Yeah… I go a bit dark. But I like dark. Dark is love. Dark is life.**

"This isn't good for you, Amber," the blue-gray tom meowed, his tail flicking. "It's normal to have a _crush_ , but this is getting a bit obsessive."

"What're you talking about?" the ginger she-cat, Amber, hissed back. "You say that like there's something wrong with Crystal."

"She's a murderer, Amber!"

"You've killed before, too, Frost!"

"That was self-defense," Frost meowed, his voice and face obviously changed to a much sadder expression. Amber didn't notice.

"I mean, she's perfect! She's a great leader, an amazing fighter _and_ hunter, she's smart, cats like and respect her, but _I can't get her to notice me!_ " She growled out the last words, as if they were painful to her. They probably were.

"That's only how you see her," Frost meowed, his expression hardened. "She's bloodthirsty and rules with fear. It's like BloodClan all over ag-" he didn't get to finish his sentence. Blood was already dripping onto the pavement of Twoleg place, and Amber was standing, fur bristling, claws unsheathed. Three scratch marks were across Frost's face.

"Don't talk about her like she's Scourge! She's a better leader than he ever could have been!"

"How far are you going to get her to notice you, then?!" Frost growled. "It's been a moon, and you've only been getting more and more desperate! Are you going to _kill_ a cat?"

A catish smile grew on Amber's face. "You know, that's a great idea!" Frost's blue eyes widened, but before he could do anything, Amber was on him. She was clawing and biting at him, and Frost was doing anything he could to get away. He twisted and pressed his hind paws to her belly, pushing her off of him before he started running. Amber was hot on his tail as he skid through the alleys of Twoleg place.

He tumbled as a weight, that he knew was Amber, was on his back. Claws were digging into his flesh, and he pressed his whole weight onto her. Frost was on his paws again and running in a heartbeat before he realized that he was going into a dead end. It was too late to turn back: Amber was already on his heels again. He skidded to a stop when he saw the brick wall, only to have the she-cat viciously clawing at him again. He turned and tried to fight back the best he could, but the fight was over as soon as Amber had her jaws around his throat. He felt himself fall to the ground, and he felt his limbs twitching.

Amber watched with a sick smile on her face as Frost finally stopped moving. "Will you notice me now, Crystal?" she purred, licking her paws, ignoring the blood that was staining her chest and muzzle.


	11. It's All In A Name

The large tom, a brown furred cat with green eyes, was sitting impatiently next to one of the dens in camp. The dens in said camp were made of stone, and covered in moss. They found the space abandoned, and filled with fancy, rock structures, that made the perfect dens. The original MossClan cats, mostly by Moss' own decision, made this their camp.

A few warriors passed him, giving him nods of encouragement or stopping to give him a quick 'congratulations'. With each cat, he just fidgeted a bit more. He was excited to join their ranks as a full warrior of his Clan, no matter how judgemental it was. A certain Medicine Cat apprentice and littermate helped him realize that. However, he had been waiting for this all his life. Besides, there were a few cats in the Clan who were working on changing that, and he was one of them.

Finally, the gray tabby leader emerged on top of the stone tower that made up his den. "May all cats old enough to walk the stones join here beneath the Ancient Tower for a Clan meeting." The apprentice nearly ran over to the rest of his Clan, but he forced himself to pad over. He sat in front of the tower, the Clan cats formed a semicircle around him. The tom turned his golden eyes down to look at the tom in front of him. "As you all know, Fallenpaw passed his final assessment today. As a reward, he is to be given his warrior name." He turned his eyes to the quickly darkening sky.

"I, Sparkstar, leader of MossClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Sparkstar turned his eyes back to Fallenpaw once again. "Fallenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Fallenpaw's voice confidently echoed against the stone structures.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Fallenpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Fallenchester. StarClan honors your instinct and intuition, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MossClan."

Fallenchester's eyes widened at his new name. His brother, Chesterpaw, had already left the Clan, and they were much closer than most siblings in the Clans.

The other cats in the Clan seemed to notice this, too, as they hesitated a moment before speaking.

"Fallenchester! Fallenchester!"


	12. Adrenaline

My heart was pounding, just like my paws were against the soft ground below me. I wasn't supposed to be out of camp, but I think there's an exception for when your mother is chasing you and trying to kill you, right? At least, I think that's a pretty good reason for breaking the rules. I had no idea where I was going, and I couldn't smell any cats from my Clan. I was heading quickly for Twoleg Place, and I could hear her coming after me.

I was smaller than her, but she was faster. I was only a few pawsteps ahead of her, and I could feel her breath when she snapped her mouse tail lengths away from my hind legs. I was lucky enough that she kept missing, and only catching empty air in her jaws. I skidded as I turned, trying to throw her off and maybe get a bit more ahead of her. Of course, I wasn't so lucky, because my paws got caught on mud and I fell, falling on my side.

The air was forced out of my lungs, and I felt claws rake down my side that wasn't covered in mud. I barely had enough time to move my body to the side as her jaws snapped on open air, barely missing my throat. I scrambled quickly to my paws, but she knocked my paws out from under me and I landed face-first in the mud.

I ended up flipping around, landing on my back and exposing my back and exposing my belly. The larger and older she-cat took advantage of that, scoring her claws over my belly over and over again. I let out a long, painful yowl. The next thing I knew, she was gone.

I looked over to see a blue-gray tom, leaping on the ginger she-cat that was my mother. I stood up on shaky legs, with the help of another, white and light gray tabby she-cat. Both of the cats that had joined me looked about my age or older. The ginger she-cat easily shook off the tom, snarling. "I'll kill you, Amberkit!" she hissed. I shrunk in on myself, leaning against the she-cat who was suddenly gone, making me fall once again. I stood up once again, to be greeted with a paw sending me into the air and sharp teeth catching me before I hit the ground.

The ginger she-cat shook me around, making me dizzy. She dropped me, and I landed harshly on the ground. When I opened my eyes, I saw the tabby she-cat on my mother's back, holding on tight with her claws. She turned over, crushing the smaller she-cat under her weight as the tom raked his claws across her belly. She let out a hiss as she kicked him away.

The tabby squirmed out from under her, biting onto her paw. The ginger she-cat stood up and shook her paw around, but the tabby only tightened her grip. The tom took the tabby's place on her back. Finally, the ginger she-cat shook them both off, turned on her heel, and ran. The two kits looked at me once she was out of sight.

"Hey, uh, Amberkit?" the tom began, padding over to me and helping me stand up. "We're gonna help you, okay?" I nodded.

"I'm Crystal, and that's Frost," the tabby mewed.

The world around me was quickly going black. "J-just call me Amber," she mewed, before everything went dark and she fell to the ground once again.


	13. Keeping Distance

The silver tabby watched the camp with blank eyes from the shade of a large tree. Sure, a lot of cats laid down in the branches, but not many were at the base of the tree. A small, brown furred kit padded over to me. She stopped in front of me, her tail swishing from side to side with a playful look on her face. "Hey, Frozenlight? Will you play moss ball with me?"

Frozenlight only shook her head and turned her head away from the kit, not wanting to see the crushed look at would undoubtedly be on her face. An apprentice padded forward and stopped next to the disappointed kit. "I'll play with you, Dreamkit!" he meowed. "I'll teach you some fighting moves."

The kit's ears perked in interest. "Really?" the apprentice nodded. "Let's do it!" The two padded off, and Frozenlight laid down. She put her tail over her nose and closed her eyes.

Besides, the last time she talked to a Clanmate, they ended up in StarClan.

She had gone out hunting with her apprentice, Lynxpaw. The black tom wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and chased a mouse into enemy territory. He, as expected, got attack, and Frozenlight and Lynxpaw both got injuries from the fight. When they went back to camp, both of them went to the Medicine Den and Frozenlight punished him by saying he couldn't eat that night. He didn't bring back the mouse, anyway, so if he did eat it was against the Warrior Code.

One of his wounds ended up getting an infection. He got sick, and moved into the Medicine Den. The light brown and white tabby, Hollygale, did her best to treat Lynxpaw, but he just got sicker.

Just before he died, he was given the warrior name Lynxspark.

Frozenlight had hardly ever talked to another cat since, thinking that if she did, something bad might happen to them. The only interaction she had was on patrol. When she was offered another apprentice, she turned it down. The kit she was offered ended up becoming Hollygale's apprentice. When that happened, she decided that it was better if she avoided her Clan. So, she did.


	14. What's Hiding In The Shadows?

The same dream. Again. The glowing eyes that were watching the black tom set him on edge, making him run through the dark forest that surrounded him. He stopped when he found himself at the bottom of a cliff, surrounded by eyes that seemed to stare into his soul. He turned and looked at the cats staring at him. Instead of being hidden in the bushes and brush, there were all kinds of shadowy cats surrounding him. Each of them was hissing, snarling, and growling, their claws shining in the low light of the forest.

He backed up, his hind legs pressed against the stone of the cliff. His eyes flicked from cat to cat, unsheathing his own claws. Suddenly, all the cats leapt at him at once. Each one dug their claws or teeth into him, growls and snarls and hisses surrounding him. He swiped his claws blindly, kicked his hind legs, bit anything that came close to his face, tried _anything_ to get the cats off of him.

He woke up as soon as claws scored a blow on this throat.

He panted, looking around the makeshift den he had made yesterday. Which, in reality, was just a hole in a tree that he had brought some moss into. He'd been having that dream every night for a moon, and he had left his den behind and started running. He never looked back, and never went to the same place twice. He barely even stopped for hunting.

He stood up and left the hole, easily making his way down the tree. Once his paws touched the ground, he started padding. He made his way through the forest, staying alert. He couldn't help but notice that this forest looked a lot like the one in last night's dream.

He froze once he heard a twig break and sniffed the air. He let out a sigh. Just a mouse. He kept going.

The next sound that scared him was the wind. He hated this. That freaking dream was making him jump at every little sound, like a kit who just left their mother's side for the first time.

A few more jump scares at normal things (a squirrel, another twig, a slight breeze) and he had almost left the forest.

Then, a cat just _had_ to jump out in front of him. She was a pretty, black and light gray tabby, and scared the fur off of the black tom. He turned and started running.

"Hey, don't run from us!" Another cat, a tortoiseshell she-cat, jumped out in front of him.

"Hey, stop-" he didn't let her finish as he leaped over a bush and started running. He heard a few paw steps following after him.

He was terrified when he stopped in front of the same cliff from his dream. He turned to see a group of she-cats around him. The fear that he was feeling, that what was happening in his dream was finally happening to him in real life, kept him from realizing that no cat was hissing, snarling, or growling.

He shook his head and glared, muttering to himself. "If I'm going to die, I'm going to die fighting." He launched himself at one of the cats, and lost himself in the fight. All he was aware of was the fur flashing against and past his vision, the claws and teeth that were attacking him, and the attacks that he was dealing out.

Just as predicted in his dream, claws found their target across his throat.


	15. The Best Day Of My Life

**You know, this is a** _ **really**_ **good song to wake up to. I have woken up to it.**

The black and gray tabby she-cat could hardly contain herself. The cat next to her, a brown tom, was excited, but he was hiding it better than his counterpart. Two other apprentices, a silver tabby she-cat and a blue-gray tom padded towards them. Both of them looked just as excited.

The silver tabby leapt towards the other she-cat. "We're finally going to be warriors, Honeypaw!" she meowed as she playfully pinned the other tabby. Honeypaw gently pushed her off.

"I bet your name's going to be Marshheart," she purred. Marshpaw's eyes widened.

"Of course it won't be!" she explained. "I'm _much_ more of a Marshspark. You're going to be Honeybreeze." Honeypaw flicked her tail as she sat up, quickly grooming her fur. She needed to look nice, after all.

"If you say so."

"What do you think, Ripplepaw?" Marshpaw turned her face towards the blue-gray tom. "What's your warrior name going to be?"

The tom thought for a few seconds. "Ripplepath." He gestured towards the brown tom. "And Newtpaw will be Newttooth." None of the apprentices had a chance to respond before a large, black tom appeared on top of a large boulder that was in the middle of camp. He didn't need to call the Clan to gather, since all of the cats had already heard about the warrior ceremony. The four apprentices were in front of the boulder in a heartbeat.

The black furred leader let out a purr. "I can see that you've already heard about our new warriors." He didn't hesitate to turn his face towards the sky. "I, Crowstar, leader of EmberClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand your noble code, and I commend them to you was warriors in their turn." Crowstar turned his eyes to the apprentices below him.

"Ripplepaw, Newtpaw, Marshpaw, Honeypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

None of them hesitated. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Ripplepaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Ripplestep. StarClan honors your wit and instincts, and we welcome you as a full warrior of EmberClan." The large leader leapt off of the boulder and landed softly in front of the newest warrior, resting his muzzle on his head. Ripplestep licked his shoulder before Crowstar turned to Newtpaw.

"Newtpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Newtwave. StarClan honors your patience and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of EmberClan." Crowstar and Newtwave repeated the actions Crowstar and Ripplestep had done before Crowstar turned to Marshpaw.

"Marshpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Marshblaze. StarClan honors your enthusiasm and bravery, and we welcome you a full warrior of EmberClan." Muzzle on head, lick to the shoulder, and finally, _finally_ , Crowstar turned to Honeypaw. Anticipation boiled in her stomach, along with nervousness.

"Honeypaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Honeystream. StarClan honors your intelligence and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of EmberClan." When she felt Crowstar's muzzle on her head, she licked his shoulder. The anticipation and nervousness had immediately been replaced with bursting happiness. Her emotions had changed so fast that she was at risk of getting emotional whiplash.

She already knew this was the best day of her life. She listened proudly as the Clan called out their new names.

"Ripplestep! Newtwave! Marshblaze! Honeystream! Ripplestep! Newtwave! Marshblaze! Honeystream!"

Yup, definitely the best day of her life.


	16. Mark My Words

"They're going to kill you."

Fawnfeather jumped at the voice, turning on her heel to look at a very familiar, and much too calm, tortishell she-cat. Fawnfeather's own ginger fur puffed up in agression.

"What are you doing here, Heartshine?" she hissed. "You're exiled."

Heartshine scoffed as Fawnfeather unsheathed her claws. "I'm going by Heart, now," she meowed. "And I'm only telling you the truth."

Fawnfeather's one green eye and one golden eye narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"What, you're not going to throw me off the territory?" Heart purred.

"Just tell me!" Fawnfeather growled. "Before I change my mind."

"The entire Clan is plotting against you," Heart began. "So I came to offer you to join me, Fawnfeather. Of course, if you do, you'll probably have to go by Fawn."

"I'm not joining you," the ginger hissed.

"Yet," the tortie mewed. "The offer is staying open for another moon, I'll be around," Heart stood and padded past Fawnfeather. "Watch out for Flightpaw, in particular.

"Flightfrost?" Fawnfeather asked. "The Medicine Cat?" Heart nodded.

"See you, Fawnfeather!" Heart gave her a lick to her ear before she bounded away from the other she-cat.

Over the next half moon, Fawnfeather's mind kept going to her and Heart's conversation. And it's effect was evident; she barely ever talked to other cats, and jumped when ever her name was called. Her ears were always perked in alertness, and she always stared at Flightfrost as the blue-gray and white tabby padded around camp.

After that half moon, her downfall took three days.

On the first day, she stayed away from camp. She sat on a tree branch, praying to StarClan that no cat found her. She didn't return to camp until after high moon.

On the second day, she started planning (after running from camp again). It wasn't too elaborate: she didn't know how the cats of her Clan would react and that just served to make her even more paranoid, if that was possible. Finally, the day ended and she went back to camp.

On the third day, she swore that she saw Flightfrost slip some kind of herb into her mouse when she wasn't looking. That was when she struck.

It was easy to attack a cat who barely knew how to fight. Her claws dug into his flesh, as her teeth sank into the back of his neck. He let out a yowl, and Clan cats were on her.

Everything around her faded. The only thing she was aware of was the pelts passing in front of her, the claws and teeth in her flesh, and the blows she was dealing out. The next thing she knew, a familiar tortishell was in front of her.

"Run, mousebrain!" Heart yowled. Fawnfeather nodded and raced out of camp after her. The two could hear the Clan chasing after them as they weaved between trees and left the territory as fast as they could. As soon as they crossed the scent line, the Clan stopped at their leader's order.

The two kept running, stopping next to a stream filled with flowing, clear water.

"So," Heart panted. "I take it you're joining me, Fawnfeather?"

"Fawn," the ginger she-cat corrected. "And yes, I am."


	17. Smile

Spiritkit had never been close to Darkpaw or Dovepaw. The two littermates were inseparable: even in training their mentors had used that to their advantage and the two made a fighting and hunting team that no apprentice could ever hope to match. The young, silver tabby kit had only ever caught glimpses of the two apprentices: laughing and talking with their friends, leaving camp to train with their mentors, sharing a mouse with each other before going to their nests in their den.

Until, today. Now, Spiritkit had an eyeful of Darkpaw pressing his muzzle into Dovepaw's blood soaked, gray fur one last time before the elders took her body out of camp. One littermates blue eyes were dull and lifeless, the others were full of sadness and tears. And Spiritkit felt wrong. She had never seen Darkpaw that way: always happy and making Dovepaw feel better, while Dovepaw was always reprimanding Darkpaw and telling him to calm down and watch what he was doing.

So, Spiritkit decided that she had to do something about it.

She waited until he returned from training later that day. It didn't seem like his mentor went that hard on him that day: it seemed like none of the other mentors did anything other than hunting. Spiritkit rushed over to the dark gray and black tabby, but before she could even get close to him she tripped over her own paws and fell onto her back. She quickly jumped onto her paws and saw Darkpaw watching her, his head tilted. She continued her way over to him, being a bit more careful this time.

"Hi!" she meowed, trying to sound as cheery as she could. "I'm Spiritkit!"

"Spiritkit," Darkpaw repeated. She couldn't help but notice that everything about him seemed… droopier, than usual. "How old are you, Spiritkit?"

The she-kit shrugged. "I stopped counting after the past few centuries."

Darkpaw smiled, then let out a small chuckle, shaking his head.


	18. Living in Fear

She was terrified, but she kept her head high. She was surrounded on all sides by enemies, but she was willing to fight within and inch of her life just to see her kits again. That was the whole reason she was here. Her kits had trespassed onto FireClan territory, and she sacrificed herself so that they wouldn't be taken.

That had earned her some respect from the FireClan queens, at the very least.

One of the said FireClan queens was padding towards her at the moment, her belly being weighed down by her unborn litter. Her white pelt reflected the light of the sun and her green eyes shone. Her mate, one of the warriors guarding her, stepped in front of the white pelted queen, his blue eyes blazing.

"Shellblaze, what are you doing?" he asking, his tail flicking.

"Going to talk to a fellow queen?" Shellblaze meowed back, tilting her head.

"She's from EarthClan!" he argued, lowering his head a bit and shooting a glance at the foreign queen. Shellblaze rolled her eyes.

"And she's here because if she wasn't her kits would be. Do you even know her name?" her mate faltered. "Exactly. She's not going to hurt me in the middle of our camp, Stonewing, and I'm sure that if she came here for her kits she won't hurt another queen." Shellblaze brushed past her tom, sitting next to the tortoiseshell queen. The other queen ignored her, curling her tail around her paws and watching as an apprentice glared at her as he left camp.

Stonewing got in close to the torie, a snarl on his face. "If you even _think_ of hurting my mate…"

"Stonewing!" Shellblaze hissed.

"And you were the ones about to take my kits," she hissed. "You think that EarthClan is horrible? Take a look at yourselves."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the peacemaker tried to speak again. "What's your name?"

"Ravenheart."

"And your kits?"

A small smile came to Ravenheart's face, despite the glares turned her way, despite the threat she just received, despite the fact that she was surrounded on all sides, despite the fact that she was a territory away from her kits and mate, because the only thing that mattered to her was her kits.

"Willowkit and Lionkit."

"They sound like good kits," Shellblaze meowed. Ravenheart nodded.

"Yes, they are."


	19. I Surrender

"CrowClan, attack!"

The order rained down upon the unprepared camp and within a second, battle had struck. At first, a cat stood at the top of camp and watched the battle, her silver pelt glittering in the moonlight. She watched as her Clan had the advantadge of surprise and took over the other Clan's apprentices and warriors, then as the other Clan fought back before she joined in herself.

After all, she had a cat to find.

She fought her way through cat after cat, until she recognized a blacker than night pelt and leapt for it, pinning the tom under her pelt. "Nice to see you again, Nightshadow," she meowed.

"Moonstar," he greeted, "always nice to see a littermate," he kicked at his sister's stomach, sending her flying back a few tail lengths. She stood and faced her brother, not even unsheathing her claws.

"I'm on my last life, Nightshadow," Moonstar meowed. "Tensions between CrowClan and DreamClan are high, and my Clan demanded I do something. I thought this would be a good opportunity to tell you…" the CrowClan leader let herself trail off for a few heartbeats. "I want to spend my last life with you."

"You want me to betray my Clan?!" Nightshadow hissed, leaping at Moonstar and pinning her. Moonstar let out a grunt.

"I want you to come home."

The black pelted warrior's green eyes narrowed. "DreamClan is my home now," he hissed. "I left CrowClan when Smokestar was in charge. He stole kits from other Clans and Twoleg place, including _us_! And with you in charge it's only just barely gotten better!"

Moonstar pushed Nightshadow off of her, then dodged a swipe from him. "Are you regretting being part of the Clans?" she asked.

"No, but I regret being part of CrowClan!"

"Well, I'm not leaving without you." Nightshadow's eyes lit up with anger, as he lunged at Moonstar with amazing speed and snapped his jaws shut around her throat. The next thing she knew, her legs were working like she was trying to run, she was dropped onto the ground, and Nightshadow was backing away from her with wide, green eyes. The next thing she heard was her deputy yowling the retreat, and a pair of jaws around her scruff, but she knew that it was too late for her to be saved.

Finally, she heard a yowl of pure anguish from the DreamClan camp that she recognized as Nightshadow's.


	20. Death or Life?

Clouddust watched as the kit wheezed and coughed, his disease still unknown. He shook his head, glad that at least it wasn't contagious, and looked over at the other Medicine Cat, Rainmask.

"I'm going to get some sleep," he meowed. "Watch over Swiftkit," he ordered, before turning and curling up in his nest. He was asleep in heartbeats. When he opened his eyes, he recognized a light brown she-cat with bright green eyes and stars in her fur to his right. Her side of the clearing was lighter.

To his left, was a white tom with dark eyes. His side of the clearing was darker. Clouddust easily recalled both of their names. The she-cat was his caring and loving mentor, Featherflight. The tom was remembered to his Clan as a mad cat, a murderer who would kill any cat standing in his way literally and figuratively, no matter their age, gender, or skill. Fittingly, his name was Stoneheart.

"Clouddust," both cats meowed. "We have a solution to Swiftkit's illness," their voices echoed off the trees around all three cats.

The gray tom in the middle of the two didn't even turn his head to look at the two cats, just glanced their way. "Well?" he asked. "Are you just going to wait for me to ask?"

"The first," Featherflight began, "is if you die, Swiftkit would live on."

"The second," Stoneheart meowed, "is if you live, you would find a new herb, but Swiftkit would die."

Clouddust sat there, thinking for a few heartbeats. Neither cat took that well. "Do you need to think to die for a kit?!" Featherflight hissed, her hackles raising.

"Do you seriously think that this is the first case of this disease?!" Stoneheart growled.

"I don't," Clouddust meowed, his eyes on the Dark Forest cat. "But Swiftkit has shown promise to our Clan," now his eyes were on the StarClan cat.

Thoughts raced through his head, as he was deaf to the two dead cats arguments.

 _I can't just kill a kit._

 _I can't just let other cats die, either._

 _Swiftkit will be a great asset to the Clan._

 _It's not like there won't be other talented cats._

With his decision made, Clouddust stood and padded over to Stoneheart. A dark smirk made its way onto the Dark Forest cats face.

"It looks like I'll be seeing you later, Clouddust," he meowed.

The Medicine Cat nodded. "It looks like you will."


	21. Scary, But Sweet

Silverfern had always thought that Nightshade was quite the intimidating cat. She barely showed any emotion, was one of the best fighters in the Clan, and never seemed to care for anything. If she didn't know any better… she might have said she was a murderer. Of course, she had seen her fight before, and while she always left a scar or a wound to make sure her opponent remembered her by, she had never killed a cat. That she knew of. Every time Nightshade passed her, her black as night pelt and leaf green eyes that seemed to stare into her very soul always shook her to her core.

Yes, Nightshade was definitely a cat to avoid, she decided.

Silverfern was grooming her own silver and white tabby pelt when Pinestar made the announcement, that since Twolegs had been taking cats from all the Clan's territories, that all cats (no matter their rank) couldn't leave camp without another cat. Owlcall, the deputy, would be the cat to assign the pairs. As soon as the announcement was made, the tom quickly bounced onto the ledge next to their dignified leader.

They must have discussed the pairs earlier, because they had no hesitance in listing them off, starting with the warriors. "The exception to this rule is mentor and apprentice training," Pinestar began, before Owlcall started, her tail flicking. Unfortunately, Silverfern hadn't been granted an apprentice yet.

"Pinestar and I will be paired," he meowed. "As will Iceflower and Tigerwhisker, Ravenheart and Leaffang, Havenlight and Lilystorm, Rainfall and Sparrowfrost, Nightshade and Silverfern, Shadownose and Cloudecho, Stonewing and Shellblaze, Kinkpaw and Gorsepaw, and Darkpaw and Dovepaw."

The warriors and apprentices looked around, most of the cats happy with their pairings. Silverfern, however, had to swallow the lump in her throat as she looked at her dark pelted partner. Nightshade easily padded through the throng of cats, making her way towards the tabby she-cat. "Shall we?" she asked, her tail flicking from side to side. "I haven't done any hunting today."

Silverfern hesitated for a few heartbeats before nodding in agreement. "Neither have I."

"Good, then let's go." Nightshade turned on her heel and padded towards the camp entrance, Silverfern quickly rising and following after the much-more skilled warrior. The green-eyed cat took quick turns through their forest territory, the blue eyed she-cat behind her easily keeping up.

Nightshade stopped by the center of their territory, sniffing around. "Do you smell anything?" she asked. Silverfern blinked, surprised at the question. She was used to being ignored in hunting and border patrols, but sniffed the air anyway. She could smell and twinge of metal in the air, along with some blood and squirrel.

"A squirrel got caught in a twoleg trap," she meowed softly. "Other than that, there's nothing around." She tilted her head, a bit scared to asked the question, but asked it anyway. "Why are you asking me? I usually get ignored during patrols."

"I think that you have more skill than you give yourself credit for," Nightshade answered, flicking her tail. "Lead the way."

Silverfern blinked, stunned by the answer and feeling a soft fluttering in her belly, but ignored it. She nodded, sniffing the air again, continuing forward and sniffing the air periodically. Farther into the territory, she could smell a mouse, and quickly caught it.

It wasn't too long after that that the two of them heard the Twolegs. Nightshade quickly bowled her over, knocking both of them into an unused badger hole that was a bit too small for both of them. At the close contact, Silverfern felt the fluttering in her belly return, and heat at the tips of her ears, but ignored it. She felt Nightshade step protectively in front of her, shoving her a bit farther back into the hole and getting ready for to attack the Twolegs if anything happened.

Luckily, nothing did happen. After a while, the Twolegs just moved on, and Nightshade just continued hunting like nothing happened. Silverfern was stunned, but her opinion of the she-cat was slowly changing.

 _One moon later_

Silverfern watched as Lonepaw, Nightshade's new apprentice, lounged in camp next to Dovepaw and Darkpaw. She purred as the dark she-cat herself sat down next to her, close so that their fur brushed. Even though the Twolegs had left, along with their traps and the partner system was abolished, Nightshade and Silverfern still remained close.

"Can we… go for a walk?" Nightshade asked, a bit awkwardly. Silverfern noticed that she was shifting her weight from paw to paw, her eyes barely on the tabby for more than a heartbeat. _It must be important,_ Silverfern thought, nodding and rising to her paws.

"Lead the way," she meowed. Nightshade stood and padded out of camp, Silverfern at her side. They walked silently and leisurely through the territory, taking in the orange and gray of the sunset. Finally, Nightshade stopped next to a large tree. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"Listen," she began. "I know that we haven't been that close to each other, and we've only been friends for about, a moon, but I like you. Really like you. More than a friend." Silverfern's breath caught in her throat. The fluttering feeling, which she had identified as butterflies, felt more like phenoxies in her belly at this point. "So… will you be my mate?" the tabby wasn't used to seeing Nightshade nervous, ears and eyes twitching around and shifting her weight from paw to paw. She was used to the Nightshade that she had grown to know: the kind, protective, sweet cat that she had grown to love.

Silverfern smiled. "Yes, I will." Nightshade relaxed, starting a never ending purr and stepping forward, nuzzling into Silverfern's neck.


	22. Do You Know You're Dead

The rain pelted down hard on the enemy Clan's camp. The black and dark gray she-cat watched as her leader, a large, white tom named Tundrastar padded into the camp with a few other cats on his tail. She easily recognized them: a gray and white she-cat was named Robinwillow, a silver tom was named Streampath, and a dusty white she-cat was named Brighteyes. The black and dark gray tabby herself could feel other dark pelted cats brushing against her, waiting for the command.

"Tundrastar," a light and dark brown tabby she-cat meowed from the base of a large rock in the camp, her voice echoing easily across her own familiar home to the enemy cats that she didn't know were there. Her amber eyes stared imposingly into the black tabby's leader, but Tundrastar didn't flinch, only dipped his head in response.

"Sagestar, how good to see you," he began. "Or, at least, that's what I'd like to say."

"Get on with it," the other leader commanded. "Need I remind you that you're on LightClan territory?" At her words, the dark pelted she-cat looked across the other Clan's camp at all the light pelts. All the dark pelted cats were sitting on the edges of camp, looking nervous and scared. That, after all, was why Tundrastar had decided to take the only four light pelted cats into the enemy Clan's camp (including himself). He did have to show a peace offering, and he had gotten along fairly well with LightClan as the first light pelted DarkClan leader in many seasons.

"Yes, of course," Tundrastar meowed. "DarkClan would like to take your dark pelted cats from you."

Silence met his words.

Sagestar stood and padded forward to the larger leader, but the hidden she-cat knew that her strength wasn't to be underestimated. "You want to _what?_ " she hissed, her voice covered with false calm.

"I think you heard me quite well," the white tom meowed. "After all, from what I've heard, you've barely let your dark pelted cats leave your camp, is that correct? When was the last time I saw a dark pelted LightClan cat at a Gathering? Not since the time of Minnowstar, I'm sure."

More silence.

"The moment I let you take my cats from me, is the moment I will be lying dead on the ground," Sagestar growled.

A small smile appeared on Tundrastar's face. "Ah, yes, I thought you'd say that." He raised his tail, and his dark pelted cats raced to meet the unprepared and stunned LightClan cats. "You see," she could just barely hear Tundrastar saying from where he had managed to pin Sagestar down while she was still surprised. "I don't like letting dark pelted cats suffer."

The black and dark gray she-cat scratched at the face of a white and light gray she-cat, her polar opposite. The LightClan cat had her lips curled back in a snarl, leaping for her, but she ducked to the side and pushed out with her hind legs, sending her off towards the other side of the clearing. She was immediately leapt at by another cat, a silver and white tabby tom.

She lifted a paw and scored a few scratched across his chest, forcing him to back up. Next, she was barreled at by another she-cat, a light brown she-cat. She got back onto her paws and looked at her two opponents. "So, not only does LightClan treat their dark pelted cats horribly, they can't fight fair, either?" she growled, her tail lashing from side to side.

"Shut up, shadow-cat!" the tom growled, leaping at her again. She ducked, but she couldn't avoid being hit by the she-cat again. Out of the corner of her eye, in the shadows, she could see a pure black tom, named Ottershade, speaking in hurried tones to the dark pelted LightClan cats. A few of them were nodding, while others looked unsure. She ducked a swipe from the she-cat, only to be hit hard in the back of the head by the tom. She felt a hit across her chest, and then she fell to the ground.

When she woke up, the battle was still raging. She stood and shook her head, but she didn't feel any pain. She leapt for another LightClan cat, only to phase right through him. _What?_ she thought, looking around in confusion. She lifted her paw and swiped at a LightClan apprentice's ear, only to phase through again. _What's going on?_

She looked around camp, then raced over to where Ottershade was speaking with the dark pelted LightClan cats. Something was different about him, a sadness that had just sparked in his green eyes, as he kept speaking to them.

"Amberwing just _died_ for this! Now hurry up!" he hissed, before turning tail and leading the way from camp. No dark pelted cat hesitated to follow him.

His words continued to ring in her ears. _Amberwing just died. Amberwing just died. Amberwing just died._

"I'm… dead?" she asked herself, looking back over the LightClan camp. Sure enough, there was her body.

"Glad you noticed." She turned her head to look at a dark and light gray tabby tom. She felt something spark inside of her as she recognized her old mentor, Clouddance. "Now, come on, I'm here to take you to StarClan," he meowed. "You fought well today, and DarkClan will remember you for a long time. Especially those LightClan cats they just got." He turned and started padding away, Amberwing on his heels. Just as she started leaving LightClan territory to go to StarClan territory, she heard Tundrastar's yowl.

"Amberwing's dead! DarkClan, retreat!"

 **I might end up making this into a full story, the concept seems interesting enough with the whole LightClan and DarkClan thing. Maybe I just really like cliches inspired by challenges, first The Revolution Has Begun and now this.**


	23. Two Lives

"Otterpool!" the sleek, black she-cat turned her head to look at a smaller, gray furred tom. Their tail was twitching back and forth. "You don't have any new scratches, do you?" Otterpool narrowed her green eyes at the apprentice. The scent of herbs was leaking off of his fur.

"No."

"Good!" The apprentice sat next to her, obviously not understanding what social cues were. "You're such a clumsy warrior," the apprentice teased, but it was enough for the she-cats claws to unsheathe and score across the ground.

"Don't you have some herbs to gather, Basilpaw?" Otterpool asked, an unimpressed look on her face.

"Nope!" Basilpaw responded, lifting up a paw towards his face. "I did that yesterday, Meadowshine and I are all stocked up." The tom nudged the warrior with his shoulder lightly, but the warrior didn't budge. "Can't I spend some time with my littermate?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to spend time with you," Otterpool growled, turning tail and padding into the warriors den, curling up and resting her tail over her nose.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar forest. The dark trees reached up into an even darker, starless sky, and the smell of mold and mildew filled the air. Other cats were materializing around her, looking around and padding deeper into the forest. Otterpool followed in their pawsteps. Her, and a fairly-large sized group of cats, emerged into a clearing.

"Hello, maggots!" the cats turned their head to look up at a shaded brown she-cat. The cat was perched on a tree branch, her tail flick back and forth. Her head was held high, looking down her nose at the cats below her. She quickly leapt down from branch to branch before her paws touched the earth below her. "I, the great, powerful and worshipped Lotusflame, will be your mentor for today! You should be grateful!"

"I've never heard of you," Otterpool snapped her head towards a young apprentice that was in the crowd. He had dusty, white fur and orange eyes. The warrior sat back on her haunches, waiting for the show to start.

Lotusflame padded through the crowd, her green eyes narrowed. She towered over the apprentice, and something seemed to click in the young mousebrain's mind that screamed 'be afraid, be very afraid'. "What's your name, apprentice?" the Dark Forest cat asked, fake sweetness covering her voice.

"M-Mousepaw," the apprentice stuttered.

"Well, _Mousepaw,_ " the she-cat purred. "Care to repeat what you just said?"

Mousepaw swallowed before he spoke in a soft voice. "I've never heard of you."

Lotusflame lifted a paw, claws unsheathed, and raked them across the apprentice's face. The young cat got knocked to the ground, no cat bothering to help him back to his paws. She turned her eyes to the crowd before her eyes landed on Otterpool. "Hey, you! Black she-cat! Come here!" Otterpool padded forward, the crowd parting for her to make her path to the Dark Forest cat clearer. "What's your name?"

"Otterpool."

"Show this worm the _correct_ way to address a well known cat, Otterpool."

Otterpool lowered her head, so far so that it was lower than her shoulders. "It's an honor to meet such a well known cat, Lotusflame. I look forward to what you can teach us." The she-cat in front of her let out a loud purr.

"Good kitty!" she praised. " _Hopefully_ that will teach this kit a memorable lesson. _Your_ lesson, I'm afraid, will be much less useful…"

* * *

Otterpool woke the next morning, her muscles sore and with a new set of scratch marks across her side. Thankfully, her fur covered them. She padded out of the warriors den, only to be met with a snarling, dark gray she-cat. "What did you do?" she snarled.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dear sister."

"To Basilpaw!" she growled. "He's been moping since last night, and I _know_ it has something to do with you."

"Why would you _ever_ assume that, Seedbreeze?" Otterpool asked.

"You _always_ mess everything up, just because we're warriors doesn't mean that changes!" Seedbreeze hissed.

"And you'll never stop blaming me for everything," the black she-cat meowed, flicking her tail. "Case in point."

"Seedbreeze, stop!" Basilpaw stepped in between the two she-cats, not intimidated in the least by the glaring contest he had stepped in between. "You don't have to defend me!"

"You're my littermate, Basilpaw!" Seedbreeze meowed.

"Otterpool is, too!" The Medicine Cat apprentice turned his eyes to the other warrior, gesturing for her to follow him before padding off. Otterpool let out a 'huff' before she trailed after the apprentice.

"What is this about?" Otterpool asked as Basilpaw dove into the Medicine Den.

"Are you coming in, or what?" the tom's voice asked. Otterpool let out another huff before following after her littermate. It only took a heartbeat before his paws were on her, checking for wounds.

"What are you doing?!" she screeched, leaping backwards.

"I saw you last night," Basilpaw murmured, all of his usual exuberance gone from his voice. "In The Place of No Stars." Otterpool's mouth opened and closed, looking for words. "My StarClan mentor took me there, she said that there was something I had to see, and… is that really what you do every night?" he finished in a whisper. "Did you used to be treated like Mousepaw was? How long did it take you to learn to talk to the Dark Forest cats like you did?

"And, of course, my StarClan mentor forced me to realize that _this_ was how you were getting your injuries, and made me ask why you were betraying the Clan." _Of course Basilpaw wouldn't even consider it…_ Otterpool thought.

"You saw how Seedbreeze treated me," she murmured. "Every apprentice treated me like that, even my own mentor did. Obviously I'm not wanted here."

"Of course you are!" Basilpaw meowed, taking a step closer to his littermate. "I want you here!" Otterpool's mouth opened again, before it snapped shut. _How am I supposed to respond?_

"Well?" Basilpaw prompted. "How long did it take you to treat the Dark Forest cats the way they wanted to be treated? So that you wouldn't end up like Mousepaw?"

Otterpool scoffed. "Mousepaw was just mouse brained. As long as you have a basic understanding of how cats act, you know how to treat them." Basilpaw was silent for a heartbeat.

"Can I treat your wounds?" he asked. "I mean, the ones that you got from last night." The warrior hesitated for a second before she turned her side to him, letting the tom examine the scratches.

* * *

"I like the Dark Forest, thank you very much," Otterpool meowed, her ears flattened against her head.

"But you're betraying the Clan!" Basilpaw argued.

"The Clan hates me."

"I don't hate you!"

Otterpool let out a sigh before she turned around, making the gray tom stop in his tracks. "Even if I _wanted_ to stop going, do you think that they'd just let me go? 'Hey, Lotusflame, I hate to bother you, but the idea of betraying the Clans doesn't appeal to me anymore, can I leave?' 'Oh, of course, go ahead!'"

Basilpaw was silent. "...I'll think of something." The warrior scoffed.

"Yes, I'm sure you will."

* * *

When Otterpool woke in The Place of No Stars, everything seemed a bit, different. The fights were more gruesome. The blood stood out more against the darkness of the forest, crimson and black clashing. Every cat was aching to turn their back against their Clan, ready to tear their mentors, families, and friends throats out at their next turn. It took her a few more visits to come to a solid conclusion.

 _I have to get out of here._

* * *

" _It's Otterpaw's fault!"_

 _She could_ feel _Seedpaw jeering at her from behind her back as her large and imposing mentor, a brown and black tabby tom named Cavetalon, padded up to her. His height and build alone was enough to make most cats curl in on themselves, but add that in with his skill and personality, Otterpaw was wondering if the Clan leader personally hated her._

" _Is it, now?" Cavetalon asked, his tail lashing back and forth, copper eyes narrowed._

" _Yeah! She stole the prey that was supposed to be given to the elders!" another apprentice put in. If Otterpaw was better trained, she would gladly scratch the two's eyes out._

" _Well then, Otterpaw," her mentor snarled her name like it was meant to be the worst insult imaginable, "how many elders are there?"_

" _I didn't do it." Otterpaw meowed, looking into her mentors eyes and trying not to run for the hills._

" _I think the odds are stacked against you. How many elders are there?"_

" _Three."_

" _Then, if you can eat for three, I think you can survive not eating for three days."_

 _That night, she had woken up in a shadowy forest with a cream and light brown tabby she-cat in front of her. She had introduced herself as Thornwing, and told her that, if she was willing to betray her Clan, than she could give her a world of wondrous and sweet revenge._

 _Otterpaw thought back to the times she had been blamed for something during her short apprentice. Even though it had only been three moons, she had lost count. Cavetalon never questioned the accusations, giving out the normal punishments, like 'look after the elders' and 'help the Medicine Cats' to 'you can't train for a quarter moon' and 'you can't eat'._

 _She accepted her offer with a smile on her face._

* * *

"I have your way out!" Basilpaw meowed one day, after coming back from the Half Moon gathering.

"Do you?" Otterpool meowed, unamused.

"Well, if you want to get out," he quickly added.

The warrior hesitated to respond to her littermate. "I want to," she meowed.

"Great!" Basilpaw meowed happily, a bounce in his step. "My mentor said that you just had to run onto StarClan territory, and they would sever the bond for you! Well, as long as you would teach the Clan what you'd learned there."

Otterpool didn't hesitate to nod. "I can do that."

* * *

Otterpool was running, as fast her legs could carry her. As soon as she had opened her eyes, she had padded in the opposite direction of the way that the other cats were going in. Unfortunately, Mousepaw and his loyalty-through-fear had spotted her, and now she was running with an army on her tail.

A cat pounced on her, making her legs collapse under her. She turned, crushing the cat under her weight, and preparing for another cat to leap on her exposed belly. They did, their claws tearing into the skin. She kicked, sending the cat off of her before getting to her paws and running again. Her adrenaline helped her ignore the pain.

A weight dropped onto her from the trees, making her fall once again. She looked up at a familiar Dark Forest warrior. "Really, Otterpool," Lotusflame meowed. "I thought you knew better than this."

Claws scored across her throat before she could move.

* * *

"So," Otterpool meowed, her tail curled around her starry paws. "Basilfrost, huh?"

"Otterpool!" her littermate exclaimed, shooting across the small space and tackling her.

"Yeah, yeah," Otterpool muttered. "Good to see you, too."


	24. Healing

" _We found him!"_

The three words had echoed down the tunnel that led to the Medicine Den, making the gray tabby's head shoot up, her ears perked and green eyes alert. The she-cat stood and padded out of her den. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight.

Other cats were leaving their dens as well, checking on the source of the yowl before their eyes drifted to a light brown tom that was too thin for his size. Scratches covered his pelt, his copper eyes drifting around the camp that he hadn't been in for two moons. "Sprucepaw!" A voice called out, a similarly pelted warrior racing towards the apprentice and covering his ears with licks. The apprentice flinched, but his paws stayed rooted to the ground.

Another cat emerged from at her side, a large tom with white fur and amber eyes. "We'll have to check those scratches," he murmured. "Would you mind getting the herbs ready, Forestpaw?" The she-cat nodded, padding back into the darkness of the den and balancing on her hind paws to get the herbs that she needed.

Her paws made contact with marigold, drawing the leaf out of it's shelf and letting it flutter onto the stone floor. She dipped her paw into a patch of cobwebs, quickly checking them over for spiders despite the uncomfortable feeling of the webs on her paw.

"...know that you want to get back to them," her mentor, Cliffwind meowed, "but we should check your wounds first." Sprucepaw gave a nervous nod, his eyes landing on Forestpaw. Cliffwind purred as the she-cat tilted her head in confusion. "Oh, right, Forestpaw was still a kit when you disappeared. Now, she is turning into a fine young Medicine Cat." Sprucepaw nodded again.

Cliffwind lifted a paw and gently prodded and the apprentice's wounds. Sprucepaw flinched even before the paw touched him, but he still didn't move from his place. The Medicine Cat quickly checked over the rest of his wounds, and determined that even though the tom had never gotten treated, he had no infections. Cliffwind gave a flick of his tail, gesturing for Forestpaw to come closer to the tom.

The she-cat hobbled on three legs, taking the marigold in her mouth and starting to chew. Her face scrunched up a bit at the taste as she sat down next to the tom, looking at Sprucepaw's fresh wounds.

"Do you want to tell us what happened?" Cliffwind asked as Forestpaw licked the poultice onto the tom's scratches. Sprucepaw violently shook his head back and forth. "Well, whenever you feel the need to talk about it, the Medicine Den is always open."

Forestpaw pressed cobwebs over Sprucepaw's poltices and watched as the tom left the den, but one thought refused to leave her alone.

 _What if he_ doesn't _feel the need to talk about it?_

* * *

Forestpaw lounged in the sunlight of camp, her paws sore after having to collect herbs all day. The sun was about to set, and she watched through half-lidded eyes as cats milled around camp. Her eyes opened a bit wider as Sprucepaw padded into camp with a scrawny rabbit hanging from his jaws. He set it down on the fresh-kill pile, only to jump as an apprentice that he didn't detect started speaking to him.

Forestpaw couldn't remember a lot of what Sprucepaw was like before he disappeared: she spent a lot of her time playing games that she wasn't too interested in with her littermates and wondering what wonders were inside the Medicine Den.

What she _did_ know, was that he was outspoken. He challenged cats that were against him, he play fought, and from what she had overheard from the warriors, he was an eager learner. This Sprucepaw wasn't any of those things: he was quiet, jumpy, and reserved. He only spoke and spoken to, and Forestpaw could tell he was doing his best to hide it, but he was scared. Maybe even terrified. And based on the look on Eveningflare's face, it broke her heart to see her apprentice like acting like this.

 _What happened to you, Sprucepaw?_

She wondered if Cliffwind was wondering the same thing, of if he had other concerns on his mind.

* * *

"Forestpaw?" the tabby she-cat lifted her head to look at her mentor, watching as he tilted his head to the side. "You haven't happened to find any new herbs out in the forest, have you? It is your specialty, after all," Cliffwind finished the strange question with a joke.

Forestpaw tilted her head and narrowed her eyes in confusion. "No, I don't think so. I don't even know if I would know what a new herb looked like."

Cliffwind let out a sigh. "Alright," he meowed.

* * *

"Sprucepaw!" the tom jumped, snapping his head in their direction. "Would you mind helping Forestpaw gather some catmint?" Cliffwind asked. The light brown tom quickly nodded, racing to the entrance to meet Forestpaw. The Medicine Cat apprentice quickly met him there, and the warrior apprentice led the way out of camp.

Forestpaw took a few heartbeats to look over his form. Over the past moon, his scratches had healed. Some scars still remained, but there was no physical wound left over. He had also regained the weight that he had lost. "So," Sprucepaw began softly, his voice just over the sound of a whisper. "Where do we find catmint?"

Forestpaw was struck with the realization that he had never spoke to her before, and that he wasn't supposed to speak like that. He was supposed to be loud, and shout his opinions for so loud and for so long that even StarClan couldn't stand to argue with him any longer.

 _How do I help you, Sprucepaw?_

* * *

Forestpaw quickly realized that Cliffwind was going towards whatever was wrong with Sprucepaw. She had met Cliffwind's mentor and continued to do so every Half Moon: he was a tom that believed and had drilled it into his apprentice that there was no such thing as an illness that couldn't be cured by the right herb and determination. While Forestpaw appreciated the sentiment, she just didn't believe it.

"Hi, Sprucepaw," Forestpaw meowed in a quiet tone. Sprucepaw still jumped, but not as bad as he would have. He quickly turned, facing the Medicine Cat. He took a deep breath, Forestpaw knew to try and force himself to calm down.

"Oh, hi, Forestpaw." The Medicine Cat apprentice sat down in front of the tom.

"So, I heard that you're going to become a warrior soon," she meowed.

Sprucepaw gave an unsure shrug. "Only if I pass my assessment."

"I'm sure you will," Forestpaw encouraged. "You've been doing great in training since you got back." The tom blinked, a flash of confusion crossing his face.

"How do you know?"

"I hear what the warriors say." Sprucepaw nodded. "I'm sure it'll be great to be a warrior; you'll get to share a den with your littermates again." The other apprentice nodded in agreement. While his littermates were worried about his disappearance, their mentors thought that training would take their mind off of their lost brother, even if only for a little while.

"They seem excited to, too," Sprucepaw added. Forestpaw let out a purr.

"I'm sure that they are," she meowed.

* * *

Forestpaw made it a habit to put take some time out of her day to speak with Sprucepaw, even it it was only a 'hi, Sprucepaw!' before she left for the Half Moon Gathering or before he left for training. He also seemed to be getting more relaxed with his littermates, but he still jumped when a cat called his name. Forestpaw would keep working on it.

For now, she had a warrior ceremony to watch.

Sprucepaw was sitting at the bottom of a tall and imposing tree, its trunk stretching to the sky. He was sitting tall, and looking as more outspoken than he had in awhile. His fur, while it wasn't groomed until it shined and quite a few strands stood out (almost like he didn't want to stand out, even thought the whole Clan was staring at him), but he was sitting with his head high and a silent pride in his eyes: a shadow of his former self.

Their leader, a black she-cat with a cream chest, muzzle, paws, and tail appeared on top of a branch, looking down at her Clan. She turned her copper eyes towards a certain, brown pelted she-cat. "Eveningflare," she meowed, "is Sprucepaw ready to become a warrior?"

The warrior nodded. "Yes. He has seen the dark side of life, but he has still decided to fight for our Clan."

The bicolor she-cat nodded, turning her eyes to the sky. "I, Willowstar, leader of FoxClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Willowstar looked back down on the apprentice below her. "Sprucepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Sprucepaw meowed softly.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Sprucepaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as Sprucelight. StarClan honors your endurance and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of FoxClan." Willowstar leapt another branch before she leapt onto the ground, padding forward and setting her muzzle on Spurcelight's head. The new warrior stiffened, but licked her shoulder in return.

"Sprucelight! Sprucelight!"

* * *

Forestpaw watched as the warrior was surrounded by cats, a lot of them just nodding to him before they continued on their way. Sprucelight looked around at the cats, looking a bit more confident in herself.

Somewhere along the line, the cats of FoxClan had decided to follow her lead. They started speaking to Sprucelight in a much more calm manner, initiating the conversation and just letting it flow. Soon enough, the tom became more comfortable in FoxClan, letting himself relax when cats called his name and pad through their territory confidently.

Looking at the tom now, Forestpaw didn't think that Sprucelight would ever return to his old self, and that Sprucelight and Sprucepaw were two separate cats. But, Sprucelight was better than the Sprucepaw that had just come returned from his disappearance.


	25. Missing

**I actually really liked the concept of this. I might turn it into a story sometime.**

Covekit knew the risks of sneaking out of camp: in a time where warriors weren't hesitating to steal kits for their own ranks, she knew that she _should_ have been scared. On the other paw, Whitekit and Vixenkit promised that she would have a good time. She had also heard stories of what the Clan's field territory was like, and while the blue-gray and cream kit was obviously not as excited to see it as her littermates were, she still got convinced to leave the ViewClan camp.

Covekit's dark blue eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, while her two littermates were acting a bit lost behind her. The tall wheat and heather hid them from anything that was coming towards them, but the bicolor kit still felt a sense of unease under her pelt. "How do you know where you're going, Covekit?" she looked over her shoulder.

Whitekit, as the tom's name would suggest, was a pure white tom. His green eyes stood out against his fur, which was currently coated in a bit of dust from… something. Vixenkit was a slender, dark brown she-kit with cream paws and a matching cream chest, along with light blue eyes. Both kits had the shadows of the wheat and heather crossing over their pelts, and Covekit guessed that she did, as well.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I just blinked a lot." The two kits quickly blinked over the span of the next few heartbeats before Vixenkit shook her head.

"Nothing," she meowed. "I guess you're our navigator." Covekit nodded, looking in front of her again and padding forward. She felt the wheat brushing against her pelt and she turned her eyes to the nearly full moon for a heartbeat.

"Hey…" Whitekit trailed off. "Do you two know how to get back to camp?" Neither kit responded.

"Well, this is eventful," Vixenkit mewed.

"And I can't say I'm having a good time," Covekit added flatly.

"Don't you like the territory?" Vixenkit asked, padding a bit faster to catch up with her littermate. The other she-kit shrugged.

"It's a little confining," she complained. Whitekit scoffed.

"It's perfect!" he meowed. He raced forward, apparently not caring about his sight troubles. Vixenkit took off after him with Covekit at her heels. The three kits were speeding through the territory, doing zig zags, loops, whatever they wanted. Peals of laughter filled the silence of the night that was only illuminated by the moon. They were panting, and collapsed on top of each other for a break, happily deciding that they were lost.

"Better?" Vixenkit asked, turning over to look at Covekit better.

"A… bit," Covekit panted.

Whitekit shrugged lazily. "Better than… nothing."

The blue-gray and cream she-kit turned her eyes to the sky, but not before they were caught by something that was sticking out of the ground like it was reaching for Silverpelt, begging for StarClan's attention. "What's that?" Covekit asked, her breath regained.

Whitekit turned his head, following Covekit's gaze. "Uh…" Vixenkit raised her head.

"I think I know!" she meowed, rising to her paws and making her way forward. "Follow me!" Covekit and Whitekit shared a look before following after their littermate. The closer to the… whatever it was they got, the larger and more imposing it was. Vixenkit stopped at the bottom of the 'whatever it was', craning her neck to see to the top. "I think it's The View."

"Really?" Covekit asked. Whitekit tilted his head.

"Yeah, the warriors talk about it all the time, and we've heard the elder stories," he murmured. He bunched his muscles, leaping, but he couldn't reach the first ledge and fell to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Covekit asked, leaning over her littermate.

"I'm fine," he grunted out. "Just in pain is all."

"Walk it off," Vixenkit encouraged. Covekit's ears perked at a strange, new sound. Something was rushing past, going by with a soothing sort of sound.

"Do you guys hear that?" she asked. The two perked their ears, then nodded their heads. "Let's check it out." They nodded again. They were lost anyway, what was the harm?

Covekit led the way towards the sound. The wheat and heather stopped abruptly, and they were met with a river. Water passed by with a strong current, as well as a new scent. Vixenkit scrunched up her nose.

"What's that _stench?"_ she asked.

Covekit sniffed. "It's not that bad," she meowed.

"It's pretty bad," Whitekit put in. He seemed to be following Vixenkit's advice well. Covekit took a step forward, much to her littermates dismay, but she didn't bother listening to their complaints. This river, she was actually interested in. She stopped at the edge and gave a tail wave to her littermates as she crouched down, looking at her shaky reflection in the water.

"It is _not_ alright, Covekit!" Vixenkit hissed.

"You're on FogClan territory!" Whitekit added.

"When kitnapping is a very common thing!"

"And it was fine on our territory?" Covekit asked, still looking on the water.

" _Yes!"_ they both chorused.

Covekit sighed. "I'm right next to the border, I'm _fi-_ " she felt the soft ground from under her fall, and she slipped into the strong current. She rolled over in the water, not realising what had happened for a heartbeat and just enjoying the feeling of cool water in her fur and watching the river bank go by.

Then, she just had to think: _How do I breathe under here?_ She thrashed, trying to get to air. Her head broke the surface. "He-" she began to meow, but was cut off as she was taken under again. She turned on her back, trying to get her muzzle above the water as her lungs screamed for air. When she broke the surface again, she took a deep breath, but it ended with water filling her lungs and coughs shaking her body. She watched as bubbles left her mouth and rose to the surface.

 _I'm going to die._ She thought. _I'll never be an apprentice, I'll never be a warrior, I'll never see Whitekit and Vixenkit again, I'm going to StarClan._

She did another flip in the water, her lungs still screaming. Her legs kicked weakly, but there was no chance that she was being saved now, she knew.

Or not. She felt teeth dig into her scruff and her body lift out of the water, but the water wasn't magically relieved from her lungs. She started to panic, but she was too tired to move. She felt herself get set on the ground, and paws press at her stomach. Water spilled out of her mouth and onto soft grass, and she took deep lungfuls of air. Next, she felt someone grooming her fur backwards. She would have complained if she had the effort.

"The poor kit," a voice meowed. "How scared do you think she was?"

"Very?" another voice suggested. "She's a ViewClan kit who had probably never even seen water before now."

"Well, I guess that'll change," the first voice meowed. "Stemwing, how much longer?"

"Be patient, will you?" a new voice meowed, with pauses where the licks were. "Do you _want_ this kit to freeze to death?"

"Well, she should be taken to camp soon," the second voice meowed. "She's FogClan, now."


	26. Disgraced

The she-cat closes her dark green eyes, taking deep breaths as a dim memory of a Medicine Cat from long ago told her to. _One, two, three. Focus._ When was the last time she had done that? When was the last time she had needed to do that?

The past two days had been blurry and hazy. She guesses that was how all memories were, but these memories were blurry and hazy for a reason other than time passing. She looks back on all that she remembers. She looks back at all the facts- at the end of her trip through her mind a memory makes her dark gray, almost black fur rise to stand on end. _One, two, three. One, two, three. Focus._

 _What will I say?_ She knows that she has to be careful. She knows that if she isn't, that if she takes one wrong step- the _smallest_ wrong step-

 _One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. Focus._ She nods to herself, sitting up straight. _I can do this._

Moonlight was filtering into the den, but it only illuminates the edges of her fur and makes her eyes look like reflective disks. She wonders what phase of the moon it is, but she knows that if she gets close enough to check she will be attacked by the warriors guarding the entrance.

After what seemed like an eternity, a cat comes to the entrance of the cold den. His pale brown fur is illuminated by silver moonlight, but the shadows hide his face from view. The she-cat was glad for that. "Come on," he meows, his voice sounding cold, "it's time." She takes one more deep breath before rising to shaky paws and following the other warrior.

She's led to a clearing that's surrounded by warriors who only had the edges of their fur illuminated by silver light, and their eyes like reflective disks. Once familiar and friendly faces are turned cold and distant. She doesn't know these cats. She never knew these cats.

She looks up at the moon. It's a crescent- the edge was faded and the tips were sharp. It looks like StarClan is smirking down at her, telling her she deserves what is happening. She is _positive_ that she used to love the night- it was when Gatherings were held, a time for meeting other cats. It was when private memories were made, ones that you would look back on forever. It was when you would look up at the sky and see your ancestors twinkling down on you. She is _positive_ she dreaded the night.

A cat slithers their way into view on a twisted branch. Moonlight illuminates the edges of their fur silver. Her eyes are reflective disks. _One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three._

She has grown up with her Clan's leader. In fact, they are practically littermates. They have trained together, played together, fought together, hunted together. She is _certain_ that the she-cat perched on her branch will let no harm come to her.

"Northwater, you are one trial for murdering three MoonClan kits. What is your defense?" the paler she-cat's voice is cold.

 _Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm._ "It wasn't me." _Good job._ _Elaborate, mouse-brain._ Northwater shrinks in on herself at her leader's strange, harsh gaze. "I wanted to check on the kits, to make sure the bedding was okay. And when I walked in…"

She doesn't feel the need to explain. The whole Clan knows the story of how a queen padded into the nursery to see Northwater with her paws drenched in kit blood.

"The Clan will now decide on your fate." The she-cat casts her eyes onto the rest of the Clan, flicking her tale as an indication for the cats speak.

"She's a kit murderer!" a she-cat shrieks.

"She should be left to rot!" a tom growls.

"Isn't she a bit… jumpy?" an elder asks.

"She's not who I would think a murderer would be," another elder adds.

"It's what she wants you to think! She killed those kits in cold blood!"

"I bet she was planning to kill the kits in other Clans, too…"

More and more voices calling for her guilt rise up around Northwater. _One, two, three._ She looks at her leader. The reflective disks show no emotion. _One, two, three._ She looks at her Clanmates, at the cats that are supposed to be her family and friends. Their silver-outlined fur is puffed outwards in anger, claws glinting in the moonlight. She doesn't know these cats. _One, two, three._ She looks to the sky, to her ancestors and begs for help. The moon smiles coldly at her. _One, two, three. Help me._

"The vote has been cast!" The she-cat from the branch yowls. "Northwater is to be executed!" Cheers rise among the gathered cats.

A wall of warriors form around her, forcing her forwards on shaky paws. She is surrounded by fur that is illuminated silver, snapping jaws, snarled insults, unsheathed claws, and an indifferent leader as grass slowly turns to stone under her paws. Needless to say, the journey forwards feels short, and Northwater feels numb.

The cats stop at the edge of a tall cliff. A raging sea is at the bottom, one that even the mythical RiverClan had no chance of swimming in. Wind blows at her fur as cats push her towards her death. She doesn't know these cats. She never knew these cats. Suddenly, when she is just a tail length from the edge, they stop and back off. She turns around and sees that her leader is right in front of her, a grin colder than the one StarClan is sending her on her face, reflective disks insane looking and staring into her soul, silver illuminating the outline of her pale fur.

"May StarClan have mercy on your soul, Northwater." The warrior's eyes widen. She is about to open her jaws, to yowl to the skies that MoonClan's respected leader was the killer, that they never knew this cat, but she doesn't have the time. The leader rears up onto her hind paws and hits her in the chest, sending her flying off of solid ground.

 _One, two, three._ The air is rushing through her fur. _One, two, three._ It hurts when she hits the water- it feels like stone. _One, two, three._ She tries to swim, kicking her legs in every direction to try to get to air, but the waves are pushing her around like she's a kit trapped in a stream. _One, two, three._ The moon looks less cold from under the water, even if she can only see one bright star. _One, two, three._


	27. Bittersweet Revenge

"Those two are identical."

The young tom who spoke looked tired. He had a gray pelt, paler markings easily settled into the darker fur. His eyes were a pale green, and had an almost ghostly quality to them. Next to him was a taller, but thinner pure white tom. his eyes were a dark blue- a color that reminded others of rivers, lakes, and oceans.

In front of them was a black she-cat, with two, tiny little balls of fur curled up at her belly. The she-cat's amber eyes were half closed as she looked down at her kits with adoring eyes. Both of the kits were black, like their mother- it could be argued that they were even darker than her. Their eyes were closed, hiding the kit blue from the rest of the world.

The mother leaned forward, carefully inspecting each she-kit. "No," she meowed. "This one," she gestured to a kit with her tail, "has some strands of white fur in her ear."

The smaller tom glanced up at the larger one with an unsure look on his face, but the white tom only nodded. "What will you name them, Ivyshade?" he asked.

Ivyshade let out a soft hum, looking down at her kits with a soft look in her eyes. Her tail tip tapped against the ground as she thought. "Sleetkit," she announced, her eyes on the kit with white in her ear. Her eyes moved to the pure black she-kit. "And Fallowkit."

* * *

Sleetkit and Fallowkit were nearly identical in appearance- with black fur and copper eyes, the only difference that could be seen (according to their mother) was a few strands of white fur. Fallowkit was too disgusted, and full of anger towards her littermate to check for herself. She could barely stand sleeping in the same nest as her.

Fallowkit's shoulders were hunched, her head and ears low as she sat next to Ivyshade. "Why do I have to be by you?" she grumbled.

"You know why," Ivyshade meowed.

"No, I don't." The kit narrowed her eyes at Sleetkit, watching as an apprentice showed her the hunting crouch.

The queen sighed. "Fallowkit, why are you still acting like it was Sleetkit?" she asked, turning her amber eyes down towards her kit. "I know that it's an easy excuse to make with a littermate that looks so much like you, but we all know that you're have a penchant for trouble."

"But I didn't do anything!" Fallowkit argued, lifting her head up.

"Really, Fallowkit," Ivyshade meowed with narrowed eyes. "If you just told me it was you, then you could be playing with Sleetkit by now."

Fallowkit stifled a frustrated growl. Fallowkit had dignity- she wasn't going to lie and say she did something she didn't do. Instead, she focused her attention back towards watching camp.

* * *

"Fallowkit, not again."

Sleetkit's voice was teasing. The other black kit dug her claws into the soft earth below her, sending a glare towards her littermate. She could feel a snarl rise up to her throat, but she held it down.

Ivyshade shook her head. "I'll see if Rushstar can give you a more serious punishment," she meowed, rising to her paws. "Maybe you'll start behaving, then. Wolfwater-" the heavily pregnant, white and cream tabby queen raised her head. "Could you watch these two for me?"

Wolfwater nodded, slowly sitting up in her nest. "StarClan, watching over Fallowkit should be enough practice for me," she joked. A soft, barely heard growl that Fallowkit couldn't suppress came out of her, and it was pure luck that neither of the queens noticed. Sleetkit, however, had noticed. Fallowkit watched with a bit of satisfaction as her copper eyes widened and she took a few small pawsteps away from her.

Ivyshade's tail flicked as she padded out of the nursery's entrance. Wolfwater narrowed her hazel eyes, looking between the two kits. "So… which one of you is Sleetkit?"

Sleetkit immediately rushed up towards Wolfwater. "I am!" she mewed happily. "Ivyshade says that I have white in this ear, see?"

Fallowkit watched with anger clawing at her belly.

* * *

The punishment that Rushstar had decided for her, with the permission of Whitesky, to help in the Medicine Den. The leader had said that it would serve as both a punishment, and a lesson about responsibility.

A gray tom with green eyes was the cat that greeted her at the entrance of the den, a smile on his face. "Good morning, Fallowkit," he purred. "I'm Ashpaw." He stepped to the side, allowing her to pad inside the den.

Light was filtering inside of the den from the woven branches that served as the entrance. Nests, filled with only one unfamiliar apprentice, covered part of the ground, and to the other side of the den was a small stream that seemed to disappear into the wall.

"It's mostly underground," Fallowkit jumped at the voice, snapping her head around to look at a white tom. "The stream, I mean."

"I'm guessing you know Whitesky," Ashpaw murmured to her. She nodded.

"This is where you'll be spending the rest of your day," Whitesky meowed. "And I wouldn't be surprised if you were sent in here again before you begin your apprenticeship." Fallowkit's eyes narrowed as she glared at the older cat, but Whitesky didn't show any reaction.

"Your first task today will be to help us change Lichenpaw's wrappings." The white tom turned, leading the way towards the apprentice's nest. His tail tip twitched, and Fallowkit followed after him.

Lichenpaw had tortoiseshell fur- dark brown, cream, and black easily mixed together on his pelt. His eyes, while closed, looked larger than a normal cat's. "Wake him up for us, would you?"

Fallowkit glanced up at the toms individually, before she balanced herself on her hindpaws and shoved at his shoulder as hard as she could. Slowly, the tom blinked open his bright green eyes. He turned his head to look at the kit, narrowing his eyes as he thought.

"Sleetkit?" he tried.

"Fallowkit," she corrected. Lichenpaw gained a strange look on his face and he nodded slowly.

"Look at his hind leg," Ashpaw meowed as she got back onto all four of her paws. She looked at the apprentice's legs- on one of them, cobwebs surrounded the very bottom of the leg. "We use cobwebs to stop bleeding, and an herb called marigold under that to stop infection. Lichenpaw, here-" Ashpaw shot the other tom a teasing look, "fell out in the territory. His ankle is sprained and there are deep scratches on it."

Lichenpaw turned his head away as if he was shameful. Ashpaw looked back down at Fallowkit. "First, you'll take those off. Don't worry, it's not hard."

"How do I do it?" Fallowkit asked, revolution making its appearance in the pit of her belly and a strange look- one that made both Ashpaw and Lichenpaw snicker- appeared on her face.

"Carefully," Ashpaw purred, "with claws and teeth."

Fallowkit swallowed, but stepped forward, using a small but sharp claw to tear away the cobwebs. Her nose screwed up at the smell of old herbs, but she peeled off the rest of the wrap. Ashpaw leaned forward and looked at Lichenpaw's wounds.

"It's looking better," he meowed with a nod, before turning his head back to Fallowkit. "Now, how do you feel about chewing up some marigold?"

The face she pulled made both of the apprentices break into laughter, while Whitesky only rolled his eyes.

* * *

Fallowkit was confused as to why she was in the Leader's Den. It had only been a day after she had spent time in the Medicine Den, and Sleetkit hadn't gotten her in trouble again- yet here she was, with Rushstar, Whitesky, and Ivyshade.

"I think she gets bored," Whitesky spoke. "In the Medicine Den, she worked well with Ashpaw and I."

"So she breaks the rules because she's bored," Rushstar spoke, curling a brown tail around brown paws. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"And why would she blame Sleetkit?" Ivyshade added.

"If we give her things to do, she would stop causing trouble," Whitesky meowed. He focused his blue eyes onto Rushstar's. "We do have a lack of apprentices at the moment, Rushstar. Ashpaw, Lichenpaw, and Dewpaw would have less of a workload on their paws." The white tom looked at Ivyshade. "As for blaming Sleetkit, that's something only she knows." Fallowkit stiffened when the eyes turned to her. "And I don't think she'll be telling us anytime soon."

* * *

Fallowkit padded into the nest that night with her head high. Rushstar had given her apprentice duties for her remaining four moons of kithood- cleaning the Elder's Den, helping them with their ticks, cleaning the Nursery, and even helping Whitesky and Ashpaw sort herbs if she was asked to. Sleetkit cocked her head curiously at her as she walked up to her littermate.

"Good luck getting me in trouble now, Sleetkit," she meowed, a dark smile on her face. "I'll be around too many cats." Fallowkit ignored her littermate's confused look, and padded into their nest with Ivyshade.

* * *

Dewpaw didn't like her. Fallowkit didn't like Dewpaw. They didn't talk much, but they worked as efficiently together as the youngest apprentice and a two moon old kit could.

Now that Lichenpaw had left the Medicine Den, but on strict orders not to strain his ankle, he was a fun cat to work with and would always have some topic prepared for conversation.

Ashpaw was kind to her, and was always gentle in correcting her mistakes. Whitesky, while harsher, had a dry sense of humor that could leave her rolling on the ground and gasping for breath.

And the best part of it all- she could watch as Sleetkit glared at her, forced into rule following while she worked.

* * *

Fallowkit watched as Rushstar's eyes switched from one kit to another, unsure which perfectly groomed pelt and copper eyes belonged to which cat. "Sleetkit," he meowed, "step forward."

The kit next to Fallowkit stepped forward, craning her neck to look up at their leader from where he sat on his tree branch. "Sleetkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to become apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sleetpaw."

Rushstar turned his eyes towards the crowd. "Halfsplash, step forward."

A she-cat with strange markings padded out of the crowd- while most of her pelt was full of different colors (Fallowkit saw gingers and creams and browns and whites), her face was split halfway down between a ginger and white half and a black half. Her eyes were an ice blue.

"Halfsplash, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You received excellent training from Swifttalon, and you have proved yourself to be clever and brave. You will be the mentor of Sleetpaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know to her."

Sleetpaw turned, padding towards her new mentor and touching her nose to the older cats. They didn't move, but sat down where Halfsplash had stopped padding forward to watch Fallowkit's ceremony.

"Fallowkit, step forward." Without a hint of nervousness in her body, Fallowkit took a few steps closer to her leader, craning her neck to see him.

"Fallowkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to become apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Fallowpaw."

Fallowpaw watched as the tom's golden eyes moved into the crowd. "Rowanwind, step forward."

Fallowpaw's new mentor was a large and bulky tom covered in russet fur. His paws, tail tip, and ears were black, along with a stripe along his spine that ended just past the top of his head. His eyes were a blazing, leaf green- a color that seemed to pierce Fallowpaw's very soul.

"Rowanwind, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You received excellent training from Boulderjaw, and you have proved yourself to be an excellent fighter and honest. You will be the mentor of Fallowpaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know to her."

Fallowpaw turned on her heel and padded towards her mentor with her head held high. She had to stand on the tips of her paws to do it, but she managed to touch her nose to his without him bending his head. Fallowpaw could swear she saw a glimmer of amusement in the tom's eyes.

" _Sleetpaw! Fallowpaw! Sleetpaw! Fallowpaw!"_

In the mass of voices, Fallowpaw could pick out the voices of Ashpaw and Lichenpaw cheering her name especially loudly- she could only guess how mad Sleetpaw would be when she found out how close she had gotten to the other apprentices. She could also hear Ivyshade, who was seemingly yowling both of their new names at the top of her lungs.

* * *

It was barely two days into her training when Sleetpaw returned to her ways of framing. The carcass of a rabbit had been left by her nest, when Fallowpaw had been more than happy than to not eat the day before for not catching anything for the Clan.

Her claws dug into the ground, leaving deep gouges in the earth as she was told to clean the Elder's den by herself. She wasn't angry at the punishment. She was angry at Sleetpaw, and she wanted more than anything to be able to tear into her littermate.

"If it helps," Lichenpaw's soft voice pulled her out of her dark thoughts, "I believe you. I know Ashpaw does, too."

Fallowpaw sighed. "Thanks, Lichenpaw," she meowed.

* * *

Stolen prey. Crossing borders. Even starting border fights, Fallowpaw was accused of it all. Every time it happened, she would imagine digging her claws and fangs into Sleetpaw and tearing her apart until nothing but scraps of her remained.

Rowanwind didn't show much emotion. Other than a nod or shake of his head or grunts, it was nearly impossible to know what he was thinking- unless you could see his eyes. When it started happening when she was first apprenticed, Fallowpaw could tell he was disappointed, but the more often it happened the more she could see doubt in his eyes as she was subjected to punishment after punishment.

Fallowpaw was convinced that Rowanwind was one of two cats- the other being Ivyshade- that could tell her and Sleetpaw apart.

* * *

"Sleetpaw! I've been waiting for you!" Fallowpaw lifted her head up from where it was resting on her paws, looking up at a peeved-looking Halfsplash.

"Fallowpaw," she corrected. Instantly, her littermate's mentor's face calmed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Fallowpaw," she meowed. "Do you know where Sleetpaw is? I know that Rowanwind promised you a day off, but there's been a change of plans for the apprentices."

Fallowpaw shrugged her shoulders. "Probably still sleeping," she meowed. She rose to her paws, her belly growling at her, but she ignored it. Sleetpaw, apparently tired of making it seem like she stole prey, made sure she missed every catch last night. She dipped her head towards the warrior, padding towards the entrance of camp.

* * *

Rushstar had been keeping a secret- rogue scents had been found on the territory, and he gathered a small patrol to find out where the group lived. Now that he knew, he had decided that they would attack them and stop the cats from stealing prey that was rightfully theirs.

"The only way to deal with rogues," the leader explained, "is with force."

Fallowpaw had decided that it was a very bad idea as she watched a rogue attack Ashpaw. The Medicine Cats had been brought along to the battle- Rushstar was too afraid of risking a cat's death to not bring them. She had leapt at the cat- a black she-cat that looked a bit like herself and Sleetpaw, except for the hazel eyes and too short body.

The two rolled. The rogue she cat ended up on top, and before Fallowpaw had a chance to shove her off, she started clawing at her belly. The cat's claws were long and sharp, easily piercing through her flesh and making sure to leave a scar. Fallowpaw yowled in pain.

She had seen cats do this move before on other cats- she had been taught this move. It was never as vicious as the version this rogue was doing.

She had never felt more relief when the cat on top of her was knocked away. She didn't have enough energy to get up, but she tried anyway. She landed with a soft huff on her side. She could feel blood flowing from her wound onto the earth.

"Fallowpaw!" Ashpaw's voice called. Her eyes were closed- she wasn't aware of the tom situating himself next to her and of panic filling his voice. She could only assume Whitesky shoved his apprentice away- she could hear a muffled order to help prepare the herbs.

Two more cats padded up to her. Dimly, she realized that the sounds of battle had ended. "Fallowpaw?" her mentor's voice asked. She felt her ear faintly twitch as she coughed weakly, blood leaving her jaws.

"Rushstar, you have to make her a warrior," Ashpaw's soft voice mewed. It sounded echoey, like the cats were talking from far away and the sounds were bouncing off of trees to get to her. "She saved me."

"So would any other cat," Rushstar meowed, his voice sounding cold.

"Rushstar, I know that she hasn't been a picture of obedience," Rowanwind's voice sounded different- more _emotional_ than Fallowpaw had ever heard it. She opened her copper eyes slightly, before they dropped closed again. "But if she dies like this, she deserves to be a warrior."

She didn't hear anymore.

* * *

At first, the voices were quiet, and slowly, they got louder. A kit's voice sounded through the den, too loud for what was acceptable in any den.

"Why's the stream so small?"

A voice shushed the kit. "Because it is," Ashpaw's voice responded.

"Where are all your magic leaves?" the voice was quieter, this time.

Ashpaw hesitated for a heartbeat before answering. "The _herbs_ are hidden."

"Does that mean I have to find them?"

"No, please don't."

"Who's that?"

"Which one?"

"Well, I know Lichenbrook got his warrior name a few days ago- I was at the ceremony-" Fallowpaw paused to have the thought of how much this kit talked- "and that he got attacked by a bush. But the she-cat was brought into camp after the rogue battle, and I'd never seen her around much or talked to her before since she was always training." The voice paused for a blessed heartbeat. "Cinderpaw? Duskpaw? She looks a _lot_ like Sleetpaw, so maybe she's Sleetpaw Two. Does Sleetpaw have two bodies?"

"It's Fallowspirit," Ashpaw meowed, somehow sounding both impressed and annoyed.

 _Fallow… spirit?_ she thought.

"I'm gonna go say hi, okay?"

"Wait, Ebonykit-"

It was too late. Fallowpaw- _spirit_ , apparently, felt a tiny paw batting at her ears. The kit couldn't have been more than a moon old. "Hey, Fallowspirit! Wakey, wakey!"

"Ebonykit, stop that!" That was Lichenpa- Lichen _brook_ 's voice.

Fallowspirit let out a groan. This kit was annoying, and the more she could feel the paws attacking her ears the more she could feel the pain attacking her belly. Silence filled the air. The paw hit her ears again after a few tense heartbeats.

"Wake up already," Ebonykit meowed. "Sleeping cats aren't fun cats."

Fallowspirit had to force her eyes open, and she had to blink a few times to clear her vision. In front of her was a pure white, fluffy she-kit with kit blue eyes. "Go…" she trailed off, her throat dry and voice hoarse. "Go away," she finished quietly.

* * *

"'Go away' was the first thing you thought to say?" Ashpaw asked. "I thought I knew you better than that, Fallowspirit," he added, faking offense.

"Ebonykit was annoying."

"Yeah, she can be," Lichenbrook mewed sheepishly.

* * *

Fallowspirit had recovered. She could fight and hunt again. Whitesky laid dead at the center of camp, his throat clawed out. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, so she slipped away.

She padded towards the cliffs- it wasn't a place many cats went often, because of the danger and lack of prey, but it had a nice view. Here, she saw Sleetpaw- Sleet _bird_ , now.

Sleetbird didn't even turn her head to look back at her. "Did you like my gift?" she asked. "When they look between his claws, they'll assume the fur is yours, not mine." Her littermate looked back at her with crazed copper eyes. "This is what you get for getting your warrior name before me, Fallowspirit."

She wasn't even truly aware of what she was doing, but she knew that it didn't take much effort to shove Sleetbird off of the cliff. It took a few heartbeats for realization to settle in- she had _killed_ a cat. Not only had she lost a friend in Whitesky, she had lost her claim to innocence in murdering her littermate. She stood at the edge of the cliffs and looked down at where Sleetbird would have landed- ocean.

She had broke the rules before. When accused, she would say she did so. She had never told anyone she had done any of Sleetbird's crimes. She wasn't going to start now.

* * *

"Your fur is between his claws, Fallowspirit," Rushstar meowed. "We know you killed him."

Fallowspirit stayed silent. She could hear Ashpaw's silence from behind her, but she didn't know if it was due to grief of betrayal.

"I sentence you to exile. If any of my warriors see you on our territory after sunhigh tomorrow, you will be chased off or killed."

Fallowspirit didn't speak. Numbly, she padded out of camp, and made her way out of the territory that had been her home for her whole life.

 **Not gonna lie, Ebonykit was pretty fun to wright.**


End file.
